The Lakers are not treating their offseason staff moves as one-off hires. They are adding to two different layers of the organization at the same time: the front office, with Eric Amsler coming in as an assistant general manager, and the performance side, with Keith D’Amelio taking over as director of integrated performance systems.
That pairing says as much about the shape of the Lakers’ build as the names themselves. One hire is aimed at basketball decision-making. The other is aimed at the systems that support player performance. Together, they show a franchise still filling out the structure around Rob Pelinka rather than stopping after a single executive addition.
Amsler arrives from the Miami Heat, where he served as vice president of player personnel. The Lakers are bringing him in as one of the faces they identified for the new roles they have been creating as part of a broader staff expansion.
D’Amelio’s path is different, but the purpose is just as clear. The Lakers announced him as their director of integrated performance systems, a role that places him in the infrastructure side of the organization rather than in the traditional personnel lane. He most recently served as chief innovation officer for the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
Both hires will report directly to Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations and general manager. Pelinka said continuing to invest in and strengthen the basketball operations group is a top priority for the team.
The Lakers had already signaled that this was not a one-position search. Pelinka said the team planned to hire two assistant general managers, and Rohan Ramadas was the first to arrive in that group, joining as an assistant general manager in charge of strategy and data systems after working with the Pelicans. Amsler now fills the second opening.
That matters because the Lakers’ front-office buildout is not limited to one specialty. Ramadas brings stats and analytics. Amsler brings player personnel experience from a long run in Miami. D’Amelio adds a separate layer entirely, focused on integrated performance systems. The organization is building across decision-making, data, and player support at the same time.
Amsler’s background gives the Lakers another executive with deep Heat experience. He spent two decades with Miami and held a number of roles there before becoming vice president of player personnel. That kind of résumé fits the Lakers’ stated effort to identify specific people for the jobs they want filled, rather than simply adding bodies to the staff.
The timing also lines up with the team’s broader push to keep expanding its basketball operations department. The Lakers have been clear that they are still in the middle of that process, and these announcements show that the work extends beyond a single department or a single hire.
For now, the clearest takeaway is the contrast between the two additions. Amsler strengthens the personnel side of the operation. D’Amelio strengthens the performance side. The Lakers are not just adding executives; they are trying to build a more complete structure around how the team evaluates players, supports them, and makes basketball decisions.