Mitch Kupchak Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kupchak on Kobe, Amnesty, Lakers

April 13th, 2013 at 7:19pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Shortly before the announcement that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant underwent successful surgery (according to NBA.com) and faces a six-to-nine month road to recovery, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak spoke to reporters and fielded questions about his thoughts on Kobe, Mike D'Antoni's decision to give him heavy minutes, and what's next for the Lakers heading into the playoffs. Kupchak also mentioned that Kobe was in good spirits before the operation and has his sights set on returning in time for training camp in November. Here are some more of the highlights from the transcript (via NBA.com):

On the idea of possibly amnestying Kobe:

"That’s not even something we’ve discussed. From my understanding without going into great detail, that’s not something that gets to the fall. I think that's something that happens in July, so that’s not something that takes place next year. That’s the furthest thing from my mind right now."

On Mike D'Antoni's decision to give Kobe extended minutes as of late:

"…I don’t think Mike is at blame here one bit. Certainly everybody can second guess looking back on it now and say maybe you should have done something different. But even if you take Kobe out of the game, there are a lot of times where he’ll just get up and put himself back into the game. Just because you say you’re out of the game doesn’t mean he’s going to come out of the game or going to stay out of the game."

On whether or not Kobe could have been convinced to sit:

"At a certain level, when you’re talking to players, these guys are different and Kobe is at the top of the list when it comes to being different. They’re wound up differently and they’re cut differently. When you’re at the top of your profession, you just look at things differently. His message to me was: ‘Mitch, I hear what you’re saying, but we have to get in the playoffs. I’m playing and there’s nothing you can do about it."

Asked if Phil Jackson could have said no to playing Kobe heavy minutes:

"Kobe is no different under Phil (Jackson) than he was under Rudy (Tomjanovich) than he was under Mike (Brown) or under Mike D’Antoni."

On Dwight Howard's importance moving forward:

"It’s not just Dwight. Everybody’s going to have to raise their level of play. He’s the main guy. Certainly a lot will fall on his shoulders. When we get Steve Nash back, a lot will fall on his shoulders. Last night, Pau was one of our best players, too. I’m not going to say that it’s all on one person’s shoulders, but everybody has to carry a little bit more right now and Dwight is one of them."

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Johnson, Oden

January 29th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge says the team currently has no needs and will wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks to get a better feel if a move has to be made or not (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who recently returned from an 11-game absence for family reasons, sounded like he wanted the team to keep Chris Johnson (LSU) and Mickael Gelabale for the rest of the season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Grizzlies guard Chris Johnson, whose 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday night, is making a strong case to be brought back for another deal, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. GM Chris Wallace described Johnson as a "seamless fit" so far.
Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald doesn't think the Heat are the best fit for Greg Oden, citing that if healthy, the former number one overall pick could find more playing time and a better comfort level elsewhere. Even if the team uses its taxpayer mid-level exception to land Oden this summer, Goodman thinks that the luxury tax impact might not be worth the investment either.
When asked directly about the possibility of playing for the Cavaliers, Oden replied: "I'm worried about the knee. That's it," later saying that it was too early for him to be thinking of a destination. Oden added that he wants to take his rehab slow, and that while he could possibly play today if he wanted to, he wants to avoid the risk of having the same setbackthat he had in Portland (Doug Lesmerises and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer report).

Odds & Ends: Prigioni, Hawks, Kupchak, Bonner

January 20th, 2013 at 1:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here's news from around the league on a busy Sunday, with one month and a day to go before the trade deadline:

The Knicks would have offered Pablo Prigioni a contract long before last summer if former coach Mike D'Antoni hadn't been so doubtful of the Spanish leaguer's foot speed, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reveals.
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer sees plenty of complications to any return of LeBron James to the Cavs.
If Hawks GM Danny Ferry decides to change coaches over the summer, Quin Snyder and Mike Brown would be early favorites, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).
There's speculation Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak could lose his job if the team doesn't make the playoffs, writes Bob Finnan of The News Herald. Finnan rounds up the week's rumors from around the league, and chronicles the rise of agent Rich Paul.
Players union vice president Matt Bonner shared his reaction to a law firm's report about its investigation into the organization's practices, and said he's not interested in succeeding Derek Fisher as union president, as Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News recounts.

Pacific Links: Bledsoe, Kupchak, West

November 15th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times focuses on Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe's efforts to develop into a true NBA point guard. With the help of assistant coach Robert Pack and the mentorship of both NBA veterans Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul, the third-year reserve has a prime opportunity to redefine his game as he continues to adjust to the position after being drafted as a two-guard from Kentucky in 2010. Nonetheless, Bledsoe has been playing well to start this season, producing 10.6 PPG, 1.5 steals per game, and shooting 49% from the field, compared to his career averages of 5.9 PPG, 1.0 SPG, and 42.4% overall. Interestingly enough, he is only averaging 18.7 MPG this year with increased production, which is nearly 4 minutes less than what he averaged as a rookie in 2010-11. There have been several links to arrive out of the Pacific Division tonight, and you can find a roundup of them here:

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak admits that there was a "real good chance statistically" of Phil Jackson returning as head coach at one point, but also became wary of complying with the daunting public support as opposed to making a decision that felt right for the team. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times discusses how team brass did not want to let outside pressure dictate their decision-making during their head coaching search.
NBA legend Jerry West offered his thoughts on the team, saying that he sees some flaws and isn't sure yet if Mike D'Antoni is the right coach to lead them to a championship (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
Warriors coach Mark Jackson isn't concerned about the early shooting woes of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry at this point during the season, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
The full transcript of D'Antoni's press conference from this afternoon, courtesy of Trevor Wong from Lakers.com.

Kupchak Addresses Lakers’ Coaching Choice

November 13th, 2012 at 6:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Amidst Lakers.com scribe Mike Trudell's transcript of GM Mitch Kupchak's comments about the Lakers' decision to hire Mike D'Antoni as coach instead of Phil Jackson, Lakers spokesman John Black revealed that if Jackson had made it clear he wanted the job on Saturday, "the process may have gone differently." Kupchak admitted it was difficult to turn Jackson down, since he was clearly the fans' choice. The GM had plenty more to say, as we recap here.

When Jackson told Kupchak and Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss during their meeting Saturday that he'd get back to them on Monday about whether he wanted the job, Kupchak said he told Jackson he'd have to continue his search and interview other candidates. "He nodded that he understood," Kupchak said. "Maybe herein lies a little bit of the misunderstanding. As it was reported, we never offered a job, and he never indicated he would coach the team."
Kupchak said the decision to hire D'Antoni "revolved almost completely around the personnel that we have on the team and the style of play we saw going forward for the team," and he and fellow Lakers executives had concerns about the ability of some of their players to learn the triangle in a timely fashion.
Explaining his decision to wake up Jackson in the middle of the night with the news they were hiring D'Antoni, Kupchak said he felt it would have been the "worst thing to do" to wait until Monday to call.
In Saturday's meeting, Kupchak, Buss and Jackson discussed the level of personnel input Jackson would have as coach, as well as "the rigors of travel in the NBA," according to Kupchak, who adds there was no talk of Jackson missing games and no conversation about salary.
Kupchak said he was already familiar with D'Antoni before they shared lengthy conversations this weekend, and is convinced about D'Antoni's plan for the team. "We didn't feel with Mike Brown and the Princeton offense that we were getting the most out of the players we brought in this summer," Kupchak said. "We looked for a coach that could get the most out of the players we brought in this summer, and on top of that the existing players."
Dwight Howard publicly expressed his backing for Jackson this weekend, but Kupchak said Howard's impending free agency played a "significant" role in the coaching hire. "We look at Dwight as a cornerstone for this franchise going forward," Kupchak said. "Right now, it's Kobe Bryant, and right there are Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, but the cornerstone for this franchise based on talent and age is Dwight Howard going forward. Certainly, a big part of getting the most out of Dwight was important in the search."

Lakers Coaching Rumors: Sunday

November 11th, 2012 at 9:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

As the Lakers zero in on Phil Jackson to be their next coach, Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports that the Lakers are only focused on winning titles this season and next, and plan to make payroll cuts thereafter to curb luxury tax penalties. Here's the rest of what we're hearing, from Ding and others.

Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that Lakers guard Steve Nash's first two choices for a new coach are Jackson and D'Antoni.
David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets that D'Antoni is believed to be the Lakers' second choice should they not land Jackson, with Mike Dunleavy third on the list.
The New York Daily News' Frank Isola believes Jackson's return to the Lakers is inevitable.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Lakers have not contacted former Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan about the job opening.
If the Lakers hire Jackson, he would likely make his debut Friday against the Suns, but could possibly coach the team Tuesday versus the Spurs, Ding reports.
Jackson is expected to give the Lakers an answer about the job on Monday, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. "He's intrigued by the job but not completely sure it's the right thing to do," a source told Broussard.
Jackson's deal would be for two years, and he would attend a limited number of road games, Broussard reports in the same piece.
A representative for one of the top coaches on the market tells Broussard the Lakers would have to be especially accomodating to attract a coach other than Jackson given "the initial storm of disappointment" from fans.
If hired, Mike D'Antoni wouldn't be available to coach for another 10 days to two weeks because of his knee replacement surgery, according to Broussard's report. The Lakers don't plan on meeting with D'Antoni in person after yesterday's phone interview.
The Lakers confirmed on their website that Jackson met with executive Jim Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak yesterday, with another meeting scheduled for early next week, writes Greg Beacham of The Associated Press (via the Detroit News).
Everyone at yesterday's meeting has the belief that Jackson is likely to return, report Howard Beck and Mark Heisler of The New York Times, who add Nate McMillan to the list of coaches the Lakers will interview as backup plans that includes D'Antoni and Mike Dunleavy.
While we heard yesterday that Jackson would command an annual salary of more than $12MM, Beck and Heisler say it's likely he'll earn a bit less than that.

Mitch Kupchak On Howard, 2014, Nash

October 23rd, 2012 at 7:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

The acquisition of Dwight Howard may have received more fanfare, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak believes the sign-and-trade that brought Steve Nash aboard was the linchpin to the team's ballyhooed offseason, citing the enthusiasm others have for playing with a distributor like Nash, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The Nash deal wouldn't have been possible without last year's Lamar Odom trade, but Kupchak said he wasn't envisioning a summer like the team just had when he let Odom go last year. Kupchak shared plenty more with Medina, as we highlight here.

On whether Dwight Howard has told him he'll re-sign next year:

"I have not asked that question nor do I intend to ask the question. I hear he's embraced the city. Certainly, everything he says publicly is positive. But there really is nothing to pursue there from that point of view. It doesn't make any sense for him to do anything other than wait for this summer."

On what the Lakers must do to convince Howard to come back:

"Winning a championship wouldn't hurt. If we didn't win it this year, would that factor into his decision? I don't know. I would think that if he has a great year and there's great chemistry and the city embraces him like I think we do and will, I'm not sure it would be a factor. But that's something that he'll have to decide. He doesn't have to decide that now."

On 2014, when executive Jim Buss says the team plans to "make a big splash":

"Even if we sign back Dwight, we'll have cap flexibility. But I don't know who's going to be available two years down the road. I don't know what will happen in the next year or two. There may be a trade that comes along. Right now, we do have financial flexibility."

On the team's pursuit of Nash this past summer:

"When we were talking about it in the office, we said, 'Steve is on our list.' but I said, 'It's unlikely.' Jimmy said, 'Well, make the call.' I said, 'we'll make the call anyway, but don't get your hopes up.' He took the optimistic approach to it. Lo and behold, the unlikely took place."

Jim Buss On Summer Moves, Kupchak, Analytics

October 21st, 2012 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss this week revealed the team has arranged almost all of its contracts to end in 2014 so the purple and gold can "make a big splash in the free agent market" that summer. The big fish that year could be LeBron James, just the latest in a star-studded litany of names that have been associated with the Lakers in the past several months. After a second straight playoff exit in the conference semifinals left Buss "very disappointed" in the team at the end of 2011/12, the Lakers appear back in business of contending for titles after the acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Though Buss tells Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register that his father Jim is still "the final hammer" within the organization, GM Mitch Kupchak said the younger Buss is gradually taking over. "It's almost been a complete transition, really," Kupchak said in Ding's report.

Ding sat down with Jim Buss for a lengthy interview, and the Lakers executive shared several intriguing tidbits.

On this summer's moves:

"I've felt the last two years, we had a chance to win the championship. Adding two Hall of Famers, basically, to this squad? To me, you kind of erase that 'we're taking steps' idea. We're here. Do what we're supposed to do."

On the front-office collaboration with Kupchak:

"It's a collective effort on every step. Mitch might have his own thoughts. He might make some phone calls to see if it's even possible. And he'll introduce it to me, and I'll say, 'Give me a day to work out some numbers and see if I think it's a fit.' Basically it's the value part I do. I'm not going to question if he likes a guy. Maybe I'd say, 'Mitch, by my numbers, the guy's a $3MM player. Right now, the market's dictating he's getting six. We just can't do it.'"

On why he says he defers to Kupchak most of the time:

"That's the area that is gray for me. Mitch is fantastic at saying, 'Well, he's a good player, but he doesn't fit our team.' Breaking down a player, you can do so much number-wise. But you need that extra 'does he fit?'"

On his approach to analytics:

"To me, a ridiculous stat is plus-minus. I think it's just useless. I needed to weed out and understand what affects the game of basketball. In the past five years, those applications of numbers came into play where I believe them. It took me years to believe they do have an effect."

On his new point guard:

"The intangible with Steve Nash is he's a winner; he's dedicated. He's just a phenomenal facilitator. My numbers take that all into consideration. I'm not concerned about his defense, because he's the oil to make this whole thing run, and I think the guys will help out defensively. And I don't see as bad of defense as everybody talks about."

Kupchak On Sessions, Offseason

June 19th, 2012 at 6:02pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak held a conference call with team beat writers this evening to offer his thoughts on Ramon Sessions' decision to opt-out of the final year of his contract and other offseason topics. Among those present was Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, who tweeted that Kupchack's preference would have been for Sessions to pick up his player option for next year. As we mentioned earlier, the team still owns Ramon's bird rights and will not have to use their mid-level exception if they choose to re-sign him. Trudell released the full transcript of Kupchak's comments, and here are some highlights..

GM Rumors: Blazers, Sund, Kupchak, Stern

May 19th, 2012 at 4:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

There's been plenty of front office news of late, so let's get right to the weekend's updates:

Hawks GM Rick Sund, whose contract with the team is up, has told the Hawks he's had no contact with the Blazers about their GM opening, according to Jason Quick of The Oregonian (Twitter link). Last week we heard the Blazers had asked for permission to speak with Sund, but the Hawks, who were still in the playoffs at the time, turned them down.
Quick also tweets that the Blazers have not asked for permission to interview Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak for the position.
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News writes that the NBA's new competition committee represents a power play by commissioner David Stern, who felt the old committee made up of the league's 30 GM's was too large to influence, Lawrence says. The commissioner would like to see the league adopt international goaltending rules and cut down on flopping, according to the report.