Front office: Eric Amsler in as second AGM
The Lakers are hiring Miami Heat vice president of player personnel Eric Amsler as an assistant general manager, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sept. 9. Amsler spent 22 years in the Heat organization (intern in 2004–05 through Skyforce GM and VP of player personnel) and will focus on pro/draft scouting and player evaluation under president of basketball ops / GM Rob Pelinka.
He joins Rohan Ramadas, hired in May from the Pelicans for the strategy/cap/analytics side. Pelinka had previewed two AGM “pillars” earlier this offseason; Amsler fills the scouting seat. NBC Sports notes this is the first major FO hire since Mark Walter agreed to sell the majority stake to the Kushner/Iger group—and that hiring had reportedly paused after that announcement. Flagged as reporting (Shams / NY Post / NBC / TSN), not a team press release.
ESPN via TSN · NY Post · NBC Sports
Roster: still incomplete after Kuminga miss
No brand-new trade confirmation overnight. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer (covered Sept. 8–9) still has L.A. exploring deals involving Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt for a wing/forward upgrade after Jonathan Kuminga signed with Minnesota (NBA transaction log Sept. 3). Fischer called the roster “incomplete.” Insider talk only—no deal.
L.A. still sits over the 15-man standard-contract limit heading into camp (~Sept. 29).
Lakers Nation (Fischer) · Sporting News
Ownership watch: BOG in days
Charles Gasparino’s sourcing (recapped by Sports Business Journal Sept. 8) still has Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner as the expected lone controlling shareholder / NBA governor on the Walter majority sale (~$12.5B valuation), with Bob Iger as minority owner, alternate governor, and day-to-day ops face. Reported expectation, not a closed deal. Kushner also holds limited Heat equity he must clear before Lakers approval—relevant given Amsler’s Heat pedigree.
Jeanie Buss’s LA Superior Court petition to block her siblings’ sale of the family’s ~17.8% stake remains set for Dec. 8. NBC Sports league sources say that Buss fight is not expected to stop the separate majority path if the Board of Governors green-lights it.
Sports Business Journal · NBC Sports · NY Post (Dec. 8)
Watch next
- Sept. 15–16 NBA Board of Governors in New York (majority-sale approval process).
- Late roster consolidation (Knecht/Vanderbilt trade talk or a cut to 15) before camp.
- Camp open ~Sept. 29.
- Dec. 8 LA Superior Court hearing on the Buss family-stake petition.