Mitch Kupchak: Exit interview
As long as I've been around the Lakers, General Manager Mitch Kupchak has been inclined to keep thoughts close to the vest. Specifically, a vest that resides under several layers' worth of additional vests, and the material is Kevlar, not wool or cotton, which further prevents information being stolen. To put it mildly, the guy can be cryptic. Thus, it was a shock when his exit meeting wound up a gossip fest capable of prompting a double take from Perez Hilton! I don't know if Mitch was giddy over the recent championship or stoked knowing his critics of yore were now eating crow, but I couldn't believe some of the stuff that left his mouth:
The exact dollar amounts the Lakers are willing to spend to retain Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom! Which players he'd love to trade because they're flat out annoying! How he pulled the trigger on the Gasol deal without even running it past Dr. Buss because, and I quote, "that senile old coot wouldn't know the difference. He thinks Magic is still running the point."
Actually, I pretty much made all that up. As expected, Kupchak didn't reveal a whole helluva lot to us media types. Yes, he did acknowledge a preference to keep the roster intact, but I could have told you the first order of business wasn't blowing up a championship team. He described himself as "hopeful" of that goal (although it should be pointed out, he chose that adjective after being given just two options). I was, however, amused by this statement: "We're very familiar with the rules of the salary cap and collective bargaining agreements..."
Honestly, that falls heavily under the category of "Knowledge I just assumed," but it's always nice to get a confirmation, I guess.
It's no secret that Phil Jackson is visiting a few doctors to (hopefully) get a clean bill of health before deciding whether he's still physically up for coaching. For obvious reasons, PJ was given a time line to make a call. And for obvious reasons, Kupchak said the date is more "flexible" than "drop dead," especially in light of Jackson's busy recent schedule and the decision being tied to health, as opposed to a lingering desire to tour New Zealand in December. As for how far the organization will dip into the piggy bank to retain free agents, Kupchak labeled that a "Dr. Buss thing." As Kupchak explained, "It's not my decision. That much we know for sure."
Our currently lousy economy adds another wrinkle to the offseason questions. As Kupchak notes, the salary cap and luxury tax threshold (which fluctuate in tandem) aren't projected to rise the customary, annual 3-4%. Instead, they're likely to drop. "Certainly, it's going to affect teams that have cap room," noted Kupchak. "Because if you thought maybe you'd have twelve million dollars of cap room, if the numbers are correct, you might only have eight million." On the plus side, that means certain teams may not have as much bidding power as expected. On the minus side, assuming I'm understanding this correctly, that means the Lakers sink even deeper into luxury tax Hades.
Between that climate and a desire to keep this roster of fourteen players intact, BK wondered if the organization would be inclined to either trade their late first round pick or draft a foreign player they can tuck away for a while in lieu of paying someone right this second. Unless a dude too good to pass up takes a serious tumble or payroll space is somehow created, sounds like that's exactly what the tentative plan is.
After he drafted Andrew Bynum and turned Kwame Brown into Pau Gasol, Brian Cook/Mo Evans into Trevor Ariza, Vlad Radmanovic into Shannon Brown and future cap flexibility, it's hard to fathom that not too long ago, people used to regularly question whether Kupchak could build a model airplane, much less a competent roster. Clearly, he can, and I wondered how much personal satisfaction this title brings the Lakers' G.M.
Kupchak tends to be rather modest and unassuming, and didn't break from character over the opportunity to crow. That's just not his style. Plus, as he noted, this line of work doesn't leave much downtime until maybe August. Kupchak did, however, share a moment that touched his heart.
"I will share when we were on Chick Hearn Way in the parade and we made that right hand turn onto Figueroa and there was just 40-50 deep in people, that was emotional. That was an emotional sign of support for his organization and that was comforting."
So what are the odds that Kupchak will have no time to celebrate achievement right around this time next year? Nobody knows right this second, but Mitch explained why he's "hopeful" Dr. Buss will pay a pretty penny to remain a contender. He's always seemed to do the right thing in terms of putting this organization in a position to compete. And that's all I can rely on. He makes really well thought out basketball business decisions. That's been his m.o. since he purchased this team."
Previous Exit Interviews:
- Trevor Ariza
- Pau Gasol
- Jordan Farmar
- Derek Fisher
- Luke Walton
- Adam Morrison
- Shannon Brown
- DJ Mbenga
- Josh Powell
- Lamar Odom
- Sasha Vujacic
AK
Did Mitch mispeak or are the Lakers not wanting to bring back someone?
Kupchack delved into the team’s draft situation, the synthesis of which is that L.A. likely won’t keep all of its picks: “We have three picks, and if we bring back the players we want to we’ll have at least 13 players on our roster. It stands to reason that we’d look to either move a pick, trade a pick, exchange picks for future picks or pick a player and look for them to play overseas for at least a year.”
Posted by: Fatty | June 22, 2009 at 05:06 PM
Notice how the expiring contracts are spaced out fairly evenly? That gives the Lakers 5-7 M each year (assuming that they can combine a bigger contract with a 1-2M contract) that can be used mid-season to pick someone up to fill a hole. That is done intentionally.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | June 22, 2009 at 05:21 PM
Europe and the world as a whole is catching up to the NBA in parity.Here is my all-world team.Maybe even beat the best of the American`s.
Center - Yao Ming
Power forward- Tim Duncan
Small Forward - Dirk Nowitzki
Pg - Tony Parker
sg - Hedo Turkoglu
6th man- Manu Ganobie
Bench................Steve Nash....Pau Gasol....Luis Scola... Peja Stojakovic......
Posted by: Jose | June 22, 2009 at 05:30 PM
Fatty, I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that if we're not bringing back a specific player, then that player is Sun Yue. We have the #29, 42, and 59 picks. My prediction is that we pick a foreign PG with the 29th pick and keep him stashed in Europe for one season, then bring him over to take Fish's place when his contract expires in June 2010. I also like the idea of packaging both our second round picks and moving up however many spots it takes to draft 6-5 Sergei Gladyr, who's only 19, can shoot the lights out, and has hops. He can get seasoning for two more years in Europe, and come over to replace Sasha when the latter's contract expires after two more seasons.
The conventional wisdom is to draft the best player available, but when financial reasons force you to take Euro players down in the 28-40 range who won't play for the team the next season, it's hard to know if there's going to be any significant leader in "best player available." So if the skill levels are fairly comparable, you draft for what you think your needs will be down the road.
Posted by: The Dude Abides | June 22, 2009 at 05:36 PM
And my all-American team (I'll pretend like Duncan doesn't fit here)
C- Dwight Howard
PF--Kevin Garnett
SF-- Lebron James
SG--Kobe Bryant
PG--Chris Paul
6th man--Dwayne Wade
bench-- Deron williams Carmelo Anthony, Josh Smith Brandon Roy and Shaq.
NO CONTEST
Posted by: jandro | June 22, 2009 at 05:39 PM
The dude Abides.....If you pick at 29 then you have to pay him ...Its a first round pick..
Posted by: Thirty2 | June 22, 2009 at 05:44 PM
I wouldn't say the "Kupcake" critics are "eating crow".
As one his critics back than, I am ecstatic that he has assembled a great team around Kobe. But before the summer of Kobe's trade demands, there were plenty of reasons to be upset at Kupchack. If anyone forgets, our lineup included Kwame (traded for Caron Butler and Chucky Atikins), Smush, Cook, Shammond, McKie, and Divac. He has obviously redeemed himself since than, but his critics would only be eating crow if they were wrong to criticize him at the time, which is not the case.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | June 22, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Mitch so far has earned a B after earning a C+ since last season.
Weakness of Mitch Kupchak? How much to give free agents:
Notable bad signings by Mitch:
Vladimir Radmanovich (Full MLE for an okay shooter but lacking the rest of the skills/heart/attitude for a $ 6 million player)
Luke Walton (Good solid role player but $5 million does not equal his skills)
Sasha Vujacic (A shooter who can't shoot and given as much as Luke Walton does annually is bad).
Cook and Smush ( http://tinyurl.com/lz6ng6 )
Bynum: Potential Franchise Center but way too much at this time.
True Mitch did get Derek Fisher and managed to get Payton/Malone and Mbenga/Powell but the best one so far was Derek Fisher.
Best Asset of Mitch: Trade.
Pau Gasol-Kwamay Brown trade: Equivalent to that was Manny Ramirez trade. Best trade for Los Angeles ever since Vlade Divac for Kobe Bryant.
Trevor Ariza-Brian Cook trade: Most underrated trade only overshadowed by the Gasol trade. Equivalent of Casey Blake trade.
Shannon Brown-Vlad Radmanovich trade: Gives up Vlad Rad's lazy personality and his gigantic contract for a future expiring one in Adam Morrison and a possible future starter in Shannon Brown.
Lamar Odom-Shaq O'Neal trade: By no means LO is equivalent for Shaq even in LO's best day but that trade did net the Lakers a very good player and would help lead to the Gasol trade.
And the small trade of Mihm to Grizzlies for the salary dump did suck for Chris but it did help keep more money for Buss to increase the chance of him spending to keep LO, Ariza, and heck even SB.
The Caron-Kwamay trade was no doubt bad but largely negated by the Gasol trade. Was interesting though to see Mike T. crave about the "Golden Calves".
Posted by: KB Blitz | June 22, 2009 at 05:59 PM
Mitch, please bring Ariza and Lamar back!!! Thanks!
Posted by: Charles Alikin | June 22, 2009 at 06:03 PM
Mitch to Haters: "SUCK IT!"
Posted by: Cactus Berry | June 22, 2009 at 06:05 PM
Mitch really is a smart guy. Who knew?
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | June 22, 2009 at 06:12 PM
"It stands to reason that we’d look to either move a pick, trade a pick, exchange picks for future picks or pick a player and look for them to play overseas for at least a year.”
- Mitch Kupcake
(just teasing Mitch) You're alright in my book, especially since you got Gasol.
One thing I appreciate about Mitch, is that he's honest. He tells you what he's really thinking, unless he can't say something.
This oversees thingy is working out real well for the NBA's top flite teams who are drafting late in the rounds.
The Lakers have NO outstanding needs, unless we lose someone. I hope not. I agree with Kobe. LO and Ariza stays or he walks. lol
We are set well, OK not well but great at the following positions.
Center - Check
PF - Check
SF - Check
SG - Check
PG - Check (with an asterisk)
This team won the Title, and unlike the Celtics, is no fluke.
Our future needs will be in the point. Rookies will not fill the need, but a Vet Free Agent will be salivating to be on this team.
Like Foxy said, pre-celebration. "After seeing this Lakers honoring crowd, guys will want to play for the Lakers"
That's my take. We make room for that Free Agent that's craving for a good time and Title runs.
But if we do pick, I say we look down under, to Australia for a tough manly man point guard.
Fatty - Who's walking with Kobe if we lose Ariza or Lamar
Posted by: Fatty | June 22, 2009 at 06:25 PM
The fact that we're picking at 29 (plus the second round) means that Kupchak and his staff get to sit there and hope for a surprise or two. This year's draft seems pretty stable, the biggest possible shift is probably DeJuan Blair because of the ACL rumors but I seriously doubt he falls to the bottom of the round. Still, shifts can cause a trickle down effect... I'm not expecting much out of the table crumbs but I sure wouldn't turn down Omri Casspi or Austin Daye if they somehow dropped.
Posted by: dave m | June 22, 2009 at 06:37 PM
What do you guys think about getting one of those undersized big men who are proven rebounding thugs with a solid repetroir of skills, just not a lot of height?
LIke a Powe type or a Chuck Hays or Malik Rose (young) type? Cnnsi is doing a story on best big men in the draft and we could maybe snag this Jeff Adrien guy. Not great heigth, but what a wingspan:
http://tinyurl.com/lw37ha
"Adrien is a bulldog of an undersized power forward who produced by outworking taller opponents. Teams will always invest, at least a second-round pick, in someone with his tenacity, experience at a major program and long arms, a package that equals the possibility of a future as a role player."
http://tinyurl.com/m5jgm6
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | June 22, 2009 at 06:52 PM
Pardon the misspelled words. Oh well.
With these 3 draft picks, I hope we get a shooting specialist, a rebounding specialist and an especially skinny Euro project.
That would be cool.
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | June 22, 2009 at 06:56 PM
Fatty,
>>> Did Mitch mispeak or are the Lakers not wanting to bring back someone?
I think considering the money we’re going to spend to bring back Lamar and Trevor and maybe Shannon, the Lakers will likely not exercise their team option for $736K to bring Sun Yue back for a second year because $736K becomes $1.45M after luxury taxes.
Sun has definitely not shown enough to warrant $1.45M and apparently China wants him to come home and play for their national team instead of staying in the USA and playing in a summer league where the Lakers could monitor and see if he was worth keeping.
- - - - - -
ex,
>>> Notice how the expiring contracts are spaced out fairly evenly? That gives the
>>> Lakers 5-7 M each year (assuming that they can combine a bigger contract
>>> with a 1-2M contract) that can be used mid-season to pick someone up to fill
>>> a hole. That is done intentionally.
Excellent point. I brought up the same thing in a recent post. However, I don’t think we’re going to use those expiring contracts in trades. Instead, I think the Lakers will just let those contracts expire. That is actually the only way to reduce salaries short-term. That’s a change Lakers fans should expect to see as we try to hold on to this team.
Adam’s $5.2M expiring contract will save us $10.5M in salaries and taxes next year and Sasha’s $5.5M expiring contract will save us $11M the following year. That money alone could pay the next two years for either Lamar or Trevor. It is not even impossible that Jordan Farmar’s $1.9M expiring contract worth $3.8M in salary and tax savings could be allowed to expire, depending upon how well or poorly Jordan plays this year.
Just a final comment on the whole “Kobe take less” argument. There is no doubt that winning the championship generates oodles of cash, from $3.9M NBA championship pool contribution to the $50M in additional revenue from home playoff games. This benefits not only the owners and players but also the city. So in a way, everybody ought to at least be smart enough to realize that small sacrifices now will pay off bigger later. That is true for Jerry Buss, Kobe, Lamar, Trevor, Shannon, and every Lakers player.
Do whatever you have to do – owners, players, agents – to make sure to keep this team together because if you do, the Lakers will ring the registers for the next 10 years. Do not allow this team to be broken up. Do not kill the championship and cash cow.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | June 22, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Wes,
Jeff Adrien could be a good pick for our #42 slot... like you said, he's not tall but he works hard. A few others - the guys I already mentioned, DeJuan Blair who I doubt will slip that far, Austin Daye, 6-10 SF from Gonzaga, draft boards have him anywhere from late first to early second round, Omri Casspi, 6-8 combo foward from Israel. Also, James Johnson, another 6-8 combo forward (will probably be gone before 29) and maybe Taj Gibson from USC. Obviously very skinny but he's got talent. And one more, Jonas Jerebko, 6-9 SF from Sweden.
I know there's a lot of talk about trading or moving our picks.... I'm just not sure that other teams will be lining up for the 29th.
Posted by: dave m | June 22, 2009 at 07:37 PM
My crazy guess to what the Lakers will do is draft someone in the first round for a team that will take that player (or that player's rights) and Adam Morrison.
Losing Morrison this way relieves $10-million plus from the Salary cap.
If that's used to sign Ariza, Odom, *and* Brown.. you don't worry about the player or the pick. The team is still very young and very deep.
Posted by: some guy in san diego 32 | June 22, 2009 at 07:41 PM
Laker Tom
I hope you have been enjoying this ride as much as me.
That's true, we double everything. This is why Mitch is probably hoping a vet comes along for the Vet Minimum.
At 1.1 million and the NBA picking up part of the tab, it would be a 'win-win' for the Lakers and Dr. Buss.
With other teams hurting on cash, a good vet may decide to take the min. just to play with the best team and franchise in Pro-Sports.
I would love to see Jason Kidd coming off the bench and leading the Mob for a season.
A dream, sure, but it could happen.
Posted by: Fatty | June 22, 2009 at 07:43 PM
We are the champions! We are the champions!
Rony Turiaf should have signed with the Lakers with less money and got his NBA ring.
Posted by: Staples 24 | June 22, 2009 at 07:44 PM
Oh! I almost forgot....
Anyone who can't give a GM an "A" grade for putting together a roster that just won a title *and* is in good shape to contend for years.. well.. that's just silly.
And, yes, I know the Lakers haven't signed Trevor, Lamar, or Shannon yet.. but we know at least one of them will get done and there will be other, cheaper additions to cover any we may lose. And yes, that team can still contend for a title with a healthy Bynum.
Posted by: some guy in san diego 32 | June 22, 2009 at 08:08 PM
Fatty,
This has been the best of the 10 championships I have experienced as a Lakers fan. Part of it is this group of players and their wonderful struggle for redemption and respect. Part of it is this blog and the web and how we all could share our Lakers addiction regardless of where we were in the world. But no doubt, it has been a pure pleasure and I am looking forward to even greater accomplishments the next 10 years.
- - - - - -
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | June 22, 2009 at 08:13 PM
LT,
"Do whatever you have to do – owners, players, agents – to make sure to keep this team together because if you do, the Lakers will ring the registers for the next 10 years. Do not allow this team to be broken up. Do not kill the championship and cash cow."
That about somes every single offseason Laker debate. I think every Laker fan will agree with that whole-heartedly, no matter what it takes to get it done, keep this team together. Maybe I'm still on my post-championship high, but I can't help but think that this is the beginning of the next Lakers dynasty.
LG
Posted by: LG | June 22, 2009 at 08:24 PM
Honestly Sun Yue, based on very limited minutes I saw him play early in the season, looked a little overwhelmed. The Lakers could afford not to take a draft choice, or do as BK wondered and draft a project / Euro player that can stay put for a year or two, unless a gem falls thru the draft-cracks.
I'm sure it's not a stretch to think that Mitch is looking at anyway possible of unloading Morrison and taking his contract off the books for this season, then turning around and adding his contract number onto an extension for Trevor Ariza. Because of age, Ariza is the must-sign out of him and L.O., although losing Lamar and his amazing versatility would be a very tough blow for the Lakers to absorb. LO has made some very nice money these last few seasons, I hope he is TRULY serious about returning and let Trevor get a little part of what he might be saving the Lakers to stay in L.A.
One other thing, I truly hope Kobe understands the importance of him re-signing at less than the maximum he can make. Does he deserve a maximum contract? Yes, absolutely - more so than any other player in the NBA. He deserves to make more than any other in the league HOWEVER if he does so he is crippling what the team can do around his contract. I'm sure he understands this but it will be somewhat worrisome to Laker fans until it happens (that Kobe accepts a less-than-max contract so that the team can use the saved money towards free-agents). This can mean the difference between Lamar remaining a Laker or not, so this IS a big deal.
Last thing, CONGRATULATIONS to Mitch Kupchak! He did a SUPER job as architect of this team! A couple of years ago I ripped him in a number of places around the 'net, but I must admit I WAS WRONG! Mitch has done a MASTERFUL job putting pieces together and has continued what Jerry West started years ago without missing a beat - KUDOS MITCH!!!!
Posted by: LakerMike | June 22, 2009 at 08:26 PM
AK,
Excellent take. I have to admit you had me hooked there for a second. There was even an instant where I thought to myself “now who would Mitch say was that annoying” just as I realized you had me. For a millisecond, it was like reading about Pau. LOL.
I just cannot believe that there are still any Lakers fans who do NOT believe that Mitch has done a brilliant job as general manager. When they say you can’t please all of the people all of the time, they really mean it. NBA Champions! Pre-season favorites to repeat! A great mix of experience and youth, superstars and role players!
And yet some can’t get over Luke’s contract or Vlade’s signing or Sasha’s extension. The naysayers have finally found the formula that works for them. Instead of what have you done for me lately, it’s let’s talk about what happened several years ago.
Whether those misguided critics care or not, this championship was also redemption for Mitch Kupchak. I have spent my entire life managing companies and hiring and firing employees and no matter how good you are, you cannot bat 100% when you are dealing with human beings. What matters is not that Mitch traded for Kwame or drafted Cookie or signed Vlade. What matters is he kept at it and recognized and fixed his mistakes.
He turned Kwame Brown into Pau Gasol, Brian Cook into Trevor Ariza, and Vladimir Radmanovic into Shannon Brown. And he traded for Lamar Odom, re-signed Derek Fisher, and drafted Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and most importantly Andrew Bynum – whom he didn’t trade for Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal, or Jason Kidd.
Mitch deserved to be Executive of the Year both this year and last year. Inside, you know he is smirking at his critics as he knows the Lakers are on the verge of a dynasty.
- - - - - -
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | June 22, 2009 at 08:33 PM
Fatty,
>>> I would love to see Jason Kidd coming off the bench and
>>> leading the Mob for a season.
I have real mixed feelings about the Lakers adding a veteran player like Jason Kidd. I never really liked adding Malone and Payton to the 2004 Lakers just to get a ring. It smacks of everything I hate about free agency and fantasy sports and how they have tarnished the integrity of the team and fan relationship.
I would prefer us to keep the team we have, although we would have to add a player if we don’t exercise our team option on Sun Yue. I just would hate to see it be one of those rent-a-players, especially one just looking to tag along to get a ring. A solid vet who might have a couple of years left who would fit in as a role player, fine. But a fading superstar looking for a free one-year ride and ring. Not my style nor I hope the Lakers.
- - - - - -
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | June 22, 2009 at 08:48 PM
Tom,
I much agree with your post. We're lucky to have Mitch. He's the classic inside man... came up through the league, was mentored for a long time by West, doesn't play to the press (or if he does, it's pretty subtle), loyal to the organization, knows how to work the numbers. Solid dude.
Posted by: dave m | June 22, 2009 at 09:04 PM
Laker Truth,
If you were a Kupchak critic who expressed unhappiness over his work at the time, but also expressed faith that he could fix it, then you're right, no reason to eat crow. But the overwhelming majority of critics used those mistakes (many of which were due to situations beyond his control) as "proof" that he had no idea what he was doing and that he needed to be replaced. I'm sorry, those folks should in fact eat a crow sandwich, because they were quite wrong.
Has Kupchak made mistakes? Sure. But try to name a G.M. that hasn't. Now stop trying, because you won't find one. Every G.M. would love a mulligan or two. But Kupchak managed to blow up a championship core and rebuild it into a title team in five seasons. That's unheard of, especially in this era of free agency and with only one lottery pick (a project to boot). Whatever mistakes he's made are pretty minor compared to the moves that bore fruit.
Even acknowledging that some situations were beyond Kupchak's control, I expressed doubts he could handle this gig. I'm man enough to admit I was wrong without trying to qualify it.
AK
Posted by: Andrew and Brian Kamenetzky | June 22, 2009 at 09:06 PM
Kb Blitz,
"Notable bad signings by Mitch:
Vladimir Radmanovich (Full MLE for an okay shooter but lacking the rest of the skills/heart/attitude for a $ 6 million player)
Luke Walton (Good solid role player but $5 million does not equal his skills)
Sasha Vujacic (A shooter who can't shoot and given as much as Luke Walton does annually is bad).
Cook and Smush ( http://tinyurl.com/lz6ng6 )
Bynum: Potential Franchise Center but way too much at this time."
In fairness to Mitch, I think all but one of those signings can be defended.
Vlad- The length of the contract may have been iffy, but Mitch wasn't the only one that wanted VladRad. Phil and Kobe wanted him too and I even remember reading that Kobe made the pitch to Radmanovich that he would flourish in the triangle and could easily average 17-19 pts/game.
Luke- Again, length of contract was a question but the $ is okay for a rotation player like Walton. If anything, I think they could have waited a few days to see what offers he would get rather them calling him up the very minute he was available to sign.
Sasha- Definitely don't agree with you here. With the type of season Sasha had last year, we all wanted him back and thought it was a necessity. None of us thought he would have regressed the way he did. You can't fault Mitch for that. The length, or lack thereof, is where this deal is good. Three years is not all that bad when you consider how many they gave Luke.
Cook- This is the one where I completely agree with you. Giving Cook an extension was horrible, though, we did end up getting Ariza out of it.
Smush- We didn't really have anybody to consistently play the point during the two years he was a starter. This was also a transition period where not too many free agents wanted to sign w/the Lakers because of Kobe and or the "complicated" triangle offense. I'm pretty positive that won't be a problem now.
Bynum- I think signing him by the deadline we had was needed. Nobody could foresee him getting injured again and that put pressure on Mitch to resign him before the deadline passed. If Bynum wasn't injured and continued the season he was having, I don't think anyone would argue the contract extension that he got. And to continue that, if he had the season he was having and we didn't resign him, who knows what type of money teams would've thrown at him and he may have felt slighted by management for not giving him an extension. He is still only 21, after all.
Posted by: Skeletor | June 22, 2009 at 09:27 PM
Fatty,
>>> I would love to see Jason Kidd coming off the bench and
>>> leading the Mob for a season.
I have real mixed feelings about the Lakers adding a veteran player like Jason Kidd. I never really liked adding Malone and Payton to the 2004 Lakers just to get a ring. It smacks of everything I hate about free agency and fantasy sports and how they have tarnished the integrity of the team and fan relationship.
I would prefer us to keep the team we have, although we would have to add a player if we don’t exercise our team option on Sun Yue. I just would hate to see it be one of those rent-a-players, especially one just looking to tag along to get a ring. A solid vet who might have a couple of years left who would fit in as a role player, fine. But a fading superstar looking for a free one-year ride and ring. Not my style nor I hope the Lakers.
- - - - - -
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | June 22, 2009 at 08:48 PM
---------------------------------
Well, after the Lakers bowed out of the playoffs in '03 it did seem like they needed a spark to help them get past the Spurs and thru the playoffs the next year. Adding a couple of hungry vets like Payton and Malone, even though they were at the tail-ends of their careers, made great sense. It turned out that Malone couldn't stay injury-free and the Lakers suddenly had a pretty big hole they couldn't close, that and the fact that Payton started 'acting up' towards the end of their playoff run, finding fault with the triangle (how many remembers him standing out at the top of the 3-pt line, simply getting passes thrown his way and passing it off to the next open player, seeming disinterested).
HOWEVER JKidd is NOT 'The Glove' - not even close! If we can 'rent' him for a year, why not do it? He is 'hungry' and can teach our youngsters how a true pro works. Can't you see Farmar and Shannon Brown progressing from his tutelage?
That being said, I see a problem. Firstly, D-Fish just took us all to 'the promised land' and his minutes would most likely take the biggest hit from a Kidd acquisition. The type of person Fisher is, I'm sure he wouldn't say a thing but positive things. However, he is a trusted and faithful player that still plays at a high level and bringing in another vet PG - well I can't see the Lakers doing it. Much smaller issue is running the triangle and how Phil likes to ease players into it. I can't see that happening with someone with the talent and savvy of a Jason Kidd, but just something to be concern. I guess it may not be the best fit, however IF the Lakers would do it, I would be excited to see Kidd leading the offense next year!
Posted by: LakerMike | June 22, 2009 at 09:33 PM
Just out of curiousity, is Mitch Polish?
I don't recognize the surname "Kupchak".
What do we play for? RINGS!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | June 22, 2009 at 09:40 PM
Here's the situation...
1. Phil, Dr. Buss, Kobe, Lamar, Trevor, and Shannon should sit down together and work things out. Period. No lawyers. No weasel agents. No family members. Just Lakers. And they need to sit down and work things out because things can be worked out. A win-win situation CAN be worked out to everyone's benefit.
2. IF (IF!) Trevor or Lamar left, which I hope they won't, we'll be able to bring in a quality player to fill that void. Could it ruin a Championship run next year? Maybe. But Andrew Bynum is going to be a remarkably improved player next year and that changes the whole dynamics of things.
3. The draft is always a craps shoot. There is a possibility that we could bring in a key role player through the draft. It could happen. Definitely not a certainty, but it could happen.
4. It still bothers me that lots of bloggers called me racist because I said that Sun Yue is not a quality NBA player. Well, Sun Yue is not a quality NBA player. That's the truth. I don't care if he's Caucasian, Asian, or Martian. He's just not a quality NBA player. A nice guy, it seems, but not a quality NBA player. It would be nice to see Joey Crawford come back. I think he had potential.
5. I am optimistic about how things are going to work out. My gut tells me that things are going to be just fine.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | June 22, 2009 at 09:52 PM
Keep the team together.
Develop Andrew Bynum.
Make an exceptional (lucky even) draft choice.
That the solution.
Dynasty.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | June 22, 2009 at 09:54 PM
But not a single columnist worth looking for? I think the problem I have with the Times' big two right now (Simers and BP) is that it's all ego with those guys; personality overload. Plaschke makes a pretty sentence, I think. But I have no desire to read them. I feel like he's sucking me into his world instead of illuminating the one worth seeing.
Lets go LA Times. It's downtime and I've been looking around noticing how awful the sports archives are lately.
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | June 22, 2009 at 10:07 PM
Here's the first part of the above post. I left it out:
It really sucks that the LA Times does not have a single go to sports writer. This blog is the best thing they have going for them by far. I wouldn't spend 10 min a week at the LA Times website if it didn't have such an interesting blog.
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | June 22, 2009 at 10:19 PM
i've been away from the Blog for a few days, and have noticed the huge argument going on about Kobe's opting out, and how that affects or does not affect the Lakers' ability to resign Trevor and Lamar.
i'm sorry, i'm gonna have to side with the K Bros, LakerTom (and i think Jon K) on this one.
yes, Jerry Buss is a very rich man, but for him to go insanely over the luxuray tax and have to pay $1 for $1 is crazy. not very fiscally responsible, shot at championship or no shot at championship. don't wanna turn the Lakers into another NY Knicks. and who's gonna pay for the huge Lakers salaries in the long run? not Buss, but the fans. tickets will go up, television costs will go up (forget about watching Lakers games on free cable channels or local tv), they can always sell their local rights to a premium network like HBO. then, who loses the most? the fans.
Kobe can choose to only accept a max deal, but ultimately the only leverage he has is that at the end of his contract, he'll walk. and that will greatly hurt his image. especially if he decides to go to a crummy team, and fail to ever make the playoffs again. but given his competitive spirit, i don't see that ever happening.
therefore, i'd like to see Kobe, Lamar, and Trevor all willing to take pay-cuts. and i don't like the analogy that was made, would i be willing to take a pay-cut to benefit the owner? in this case, the product is the team, and an individual such as Kobe has the ability to give the franchise greater financial flexibility for them to make a better product. plus, you'll be able to keep valuable memebers of your staff/product. if i was making X million dollars a year, and if a pay-cut would help save my friend's job, who was making significantly less... i'd love to do so, especially in this situation.
even if i wasn't making millions of dollars, i'd gladly sacrifice a small % of my pay (as long as i could still provide for my family) to save a friend and coworker's job. wouldn't any of you? well i guess those arguing for Kobe maxing out would not agree.
in this discussion, i see a direct correlation to $ and rings. and since Kobe is making the most of it on the Lakers, the question inevitbaly arises (as with any superstar making max or close to max $), is it about the $ or is it about the Ws or the Rings?
in a perfect world, JB would pay every single Laker what they are worth, and the Lakers will win the Championship year in and year out. and Lakers ticket prices will go down (to close to $0). but we're not living in a perfect world. the harsh reality is that if Kobe takes max, and Lamar or Trevor wants to get paid well, then one will have to walk. and that is a situation that i would not like to see in any possible world.
Posted by: leonardbast | June 22, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Two years.
For just two years absorb the salaries of TA, LO, SBrown.
Win three straight.
After that, release the expensive dead weights. Good bye AMMO et al.Then win three more. .
Dy-Nas-Ty!
Posted by: p ang | June 22, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Thirty2, NBA teams do not have to pay first round draft picks who sign with foreign teams. Do a google search for Tiago Splitter or Fran Vasquez and you'll see what I mean.
The Lakers simply cannot afford to choose an American college player with the 29th pick because it would endanger their chances of re-signing Trevor, Shannon, or LO. A European point guard who can be stashed away for one year then brought over to be the last PG off the bench when Fish's and Ammo's contracts expire would be ideal.
Posted by: The Dude Abides | June 22, 2009 at 10:37 PM
AK,
Thanks for the response.
Before the summer of Kobe's trade demands there was absolutely no reason to have any faith in Kupcake. Sure, trading Shaq was a "situation beyond his control", but there were plenty of moves that were in his control:
-trading Kwame for Caron and Chucky
-signing 55 year old Divac and 52 year old McKie
-allowing Smush Parker to be the starting PG
-giving Luke a bloated contract without testing the market
-signing Samaki Walker when the team was in desperate need for a PF
-drafting Brian Cook, despite desperate pleas from Ron Harper, our scout, to draft Barbosa
-re-signing Brian Cook
-signing Radman
That's more than "a mulligan or two". During that summer, many Kupchack supporters were actually defending his moves as well as the players that Kobe "threw under the bus", while Kupchack critics were arguing that those players were trash, and if Kupcake just surrounded Kobe with some real NBA players, Kobe would lead us to the promised land. Kupchack's critics (after realizing he was not going to be replaced by Jerry West) also predicted that Kobe's trade demands would force Kupchack to add some real NBA players ASAP. Whether it was by pressure from Kobe's trade demands, coincidence, good fortune, or amazing GM skills (probably a combination of all), Kupchack finally came through that very year, with his trades for Gasol and Ariza, as well as his acquisition of DFish.
So yes, I will eat your crow sandwich, but only a nibble.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | June 22, 2009 at 10:57 PM
leonardbast,
There is a win-win situation in all of this.
Dr. Buss, Kobe, Lamar, Trevor and Shannon all need to sit down in an isolated, stress-free location and talk things out.
It goes no deeper than that.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | June 22, 2009 at 11:02 PM
Leonard,
As long as I could provide for my family,
would I take a small paycut to save a friend's job? - YES
Would I take a small paycut to have that money go right into my boss' pocket, who makes more than me? - HECK NO
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | June 22, 2009 at 11:04 PM
The Dude Abides...Thanks for clearing that up mate..I did not know that..Splitter is that guy from Brazil....
Cheers man for that clear up.
Posted by: Thirty2 | June 22, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Dude Abides - I don't see it as quite so cut and dried. If a decent player falls into our lap for scale/$996,240, it could be worth the tax. Just depends. Certainly parking someone overseas is an option as you point out. Trading or moving a pick's a bit harder because you need a willing partner and need to take something back. At any rate, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Maybe we could park Casspi or Jerebko?
Posted by: dave m | June 22, 2009 at 11:17 PM
>>>The dude Abides.....If you pick at 29 then you have to
>>>pay him ...Its a first round pick..
Actually, that's not the case. They do have a fixed amount that they
have to pay them when (or if) they actually join the team, but they don't
have to sign them for next season. They basically hold their rights
indefinitely.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | June 22, 2009 at 11:20 PM
dude,
>>>The Lakers simply cannot afford to choose an American
>>> college player with the 29th pick because it would
>>> endanger their chances of re-signing Trevor, Shannon,
>>> or LO.
Welllll. It depends. If someone they really like slips down to
number 29, they have options on the next year of MBenga,
Powell, and Sun Yue, and that low in the draft, the signee
would make less money than Powell or Congo Cash, and
only a bit more than the Monkey King.
So let's say someone like Tyler Hansbrough or Ty Lawson
slides all the way down to 29 - or even Darren Collison. The
Lakers could take the young player with upside and sign
them for 2 or 3 years on the cheap, and waive Powell or Sun,
who they would replace.
Personally, I'd prefer for them to keep the current team and
sign Nick Calathes. He's already signed in Greece, so he'd get
a little Euro-seasoning while the Lakers could find out for certain
whether Jordan or Shannon or Sun could handle the starting
job. If not, you could bring Nick in next year or the year after
and you'd have another guy to try out.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | June 22, 2009 at 11:45 PM
I was going to wait to post again until I had gone through all of the exit interviews, the comments thereof, and the reactions to those comments. I was then going to address the 'S*mm*ns' and S*m*rs' columns and, with a mild apology to the K Bros for my curmudgeonness vis a their posting of their comments with the big ol attention grabbing headline.
Also I was going to do a thing where I posted a link to a good youtube version of "eye of the tiger' and then posted what I thought would be some good adapted lyrics aimed at lakers blog members, But 1) I just watched 'willy wonka and the chocolate factory' and for some reason this has made me less likely to apologize for carmudgeionness, and 2) I just felt sort of impatient.
Therefore, phred would just like to add his two or whatever cents regards these discussions, and what will hopefully be his full commentary for most of next season about anything;
WHOOOOOHOOOOOO! WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! YEAH! WE WON [excerpt from the song that was playing on Kobe's headphones in that nike puppet commerical, the one that was muted when he walked past Lebron eating fruity pebbles, or whatever. {fruity pebbles? really? was that the best choice?} ]
WE WON! IN YOUR FACE, EVERYBODY! WE WON! WE WON! Y'ALL SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE! WE WON WITH ODOM! WE WON WITH LUKE! WE *()&(*^*&%in WON!
Yeah, i'm going to be doing that for a while. Also, K Bros, in your expert opinion, what can we as true Laker Blog member and true Laker fans do to let Dr Buss know that we want LO and TA resigned? I am willing to buy tickets in advance, even though I don't live in LA and have no realistic plans for being there next season, and I don't think i'm alone in that on this blog, what can we do to encourage the good Dr. to bring back LO and TA? We would like to see it happen. Thanks
THE LOVE WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO KNOW, WE WON! WE WON! HA HA HAH HA BWAH HA! WE WON!
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE LOVE!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: phred | June 22, 2009 at 11:53 PM
also- Laker Truth- really? and the better result that could have occasioned if he had just done what Laker Truth had wanted him to do? would we have won the title sooner? or maybe he had reasons for doing all of that, that you, Laker...
ah, screw it. WE WON! WE WON! BWAH HA HA HA! WE WON!
Man, winning sure does shut some people up, huh? or so one would think.
Posted by: phred | June 22, 2009 at 11:56 PM
p ang-
F in A!
Posted by: phred | June 22, 2009 at 11:57 PM
the dude abides- man, i am so impressed with myself that i remembered 'the big lebowski'
now somebody give me a guess where 'phred' comes from. go'an, try.
man, i'm so punchy tonight.
WE WON! WHOOOO HOOOOO!
Posted by: phred | June 22, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Did I mention that we won? Just wanted everybody to get that. We won.
Posted by: phred | June 23, 2009 at 12:06 AM