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Archive for September, 2007

Plaschke: Kupchak has at least one supporter

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 28, 2007 in Articles. 10 Comments

phone.jpgL.A. Times: Has a sports executive ever entered a season more outnumbered, outmanned and potentially out of his mind?

On the court, the Lakers will be playing two-on-one.

Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant are the two.

Mitch Kupchak is the one.

Off the court, the Lakers are sounding like two million-on-one.

Laker fans are the two million.

Mitch Kupchak is the one.

The Lakers general manager has been publicly ripped by one of the league’s best active players, publicly questioned by a Hall of Fame coach, angrily swarmed by Southern California’s most passionate fan base.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing.

He’s not Jerry West.

As the Lakers take the court next week for the beginning of training camp, everyone will be cheering for Bryant’s presence, and Jackson’s wisdom, and Andrew Bynum’s maturity, and Lamar Odom’s health, and even Kwame Brown’s hands.

Continue reading ‘Plaschke: Kupchak has at least one supporter’

Is Mitch Kupchak Really to Blame?

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 28, 2007 in Articles. 6 Comments

HOOPSWORLD.COM: By now, many of you have seen the video on the main-page in which I discussed the Los Angeles Lakers and GM Mitch Kupchak (I know because of all the e-mail I’ve received since it was posted at the beginning of the week).

And yes, I really do believe that Kupchak has done a pretty decent job.

And no, I haven’t been drinking.

I know it’s fashionable these days to blame Kupchak for all of the Lakers’ woes. He’s been setup to be the fall guy if the Lakers struggle this season, and he’s already being bashed by Laker fans for his inability to acquire a superstar this offseason. Although, don’t be surprised if Shawn Marion, who recently requested a trade, ends up in LA before all is said and done (more on that later).

First, I’m not sure fans understand just how hard it is to consummate a trade in today’s NBA. It’s not like Kupchak can just waive his magic wand and make a Kevin Garnett type player show up on the Staples Center hardwood in exchange for Kwame Brown, Sasha Vujacic, and a couple of headbands. It takes two to tango, and not only that, but salaries have to match, as well. Point is, it’s not easy to orchestrate a big trade in today’s NBA.

Moreover, with Garnett out of the picture, would it really make the Lakers better to move Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum for a guy like Jermaine O’Neal? Look, you won’t run into a columnist who has more respect for O’Neal as a player and a person than I do, but moving Bynum in such a deal may not be the most prudent decision.

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Catching Up with Mitch Kupchak: Part II

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 28, 2007 in Articles. 1 Comment

Lakers.com: Have you talked to Phil about the current depth chart within the team?
Yes. We’ve met everyday since he’s been back, which has been about three weeks now. We talk every three or four days during the summer and of course he doesn’t leave for the summer until the summer has actually begun. There’s really not a (long) period of time when we’re not in communication. There might be six weeks when he’s out of town and we talk every three or four days in those six weeks. Sometimes every other day, sometimes three or four times a day. So we communicate frequently.

We are deep at every position and I think that’s good when it’s on paper, having said that, not everybody can play (gets playing time). We’re curious for training camp to begin. We’re going to let the guys figure out who plays and doesn’t get to play beginning Tuesday in Hawaii. That’s going to sort itself out. We do feel that we have 14 guys that all want to play and the likelihood is that some of them won’t get to play. Phil’s going to have to narrow down the rotation to eight or nine players. I suppose you can play ten from time to time, but because of our depth I can see where maybe a couple guys that think they should be playing won’t be playing. That may be something we need to address.

You’ve said that you expect to go with this team into training camp, what’s the next opportunity to make a deal? What needs to change so that the opportunity to trade becomes open again?
Our approach now is not that different than our approach at anytime prior to the beginning of training camp. We’re not looking to make a deal just to make a deal. Because we didn’t finish on a positive note last year we were more aggressive in the off-season and we will remain aggressive, maybe more so than you normally would be. But we’re not going to succumb to making a move just to make a move or because there is the illusion that the Lakers have to do something. We feel that we’re a good team and could be a very good team. Our goal in making a move, you would hope that you’re not making a move that would make yourself a worse team. So in our case, you’re looking to make a move that would make you go from being a good or a very good team to a great team. Those moves are hard to come by. We’re going to look to make that move, but they just don’t appear. You can make a move to make a move, there’s a bunch of those we can do, and we could do a bunch of things with players that may not play a lot of minutes, we can make those moves. But it’s our feeling that if you’re going to make a move you should think that it’s going to improve your teamI.

Continue reading ‘Catching Up with Mitch Kupchak: Part II’

Catching Up with Mitch Kupchak: Part I

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 27, 2007 in Articles. 7 Comments

Lakers.com caught up with General Manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss the 2007-08 Lakers as they head into training camp next week. Check back for part two tomorrow.

Lakers.com: Has Kobe reached out to you and Phil and other teammates?
I don’t know if he speaks to his teammates, I assume that he does. I know that he and Phil have communicated and Kobe and I have also communicated, recently.

Who looks most improved to you as a result of their off-season workouts?
It’s always hard to tell by looking at guys in pick-up games. All our guys work hard during the off-season. I know that physically people will see a difference in Andrew (Bynum) because he worked hard during the off-season on his body and his conditioning. Whether or not that translates into being a better basketball player we’ll find out starting next week. I know Chris Mihm has worked very hard and he looks close to being the same player he was 2 years ago. I don’t worry about Luke Walton, I don’t worry about Kobe, and I don’t worry about Fisher. I don’t worry about Jordan Farmar and I don’t worry about Cook.

Ronny Turiaf played with his national team, France, for the European Championships and I am little bit concerned that he will be a little burned out when the pre-season begins. He played well this summer, but he played a lot of minutes. I was hoping that he’d get some rest before camp. It remains to be seen.

Kwame had recovered from his 2 off-season surgeries and has been playing very well for the last month of so here at the facility. I don’t worry about Maurice Evans. He’s in San Antonio during the off-season.

Lamar had the second surgery on his labrum and he’s not scrimmaging yet and he’s not doing a whole lot on the basketball court so I don’t know how much he’ll participate in training camp. He’ll be there; he’ll be on the court. But is he scrimmaging or is he working at the side basket doing dummy offense and dummy defense, we don’t know right now.

Most of our guys, when they’re in town, come by and they’re in the gym. Some of our guys live in L.A. and they’re always in the gym. With the exception of Lamar, because of his injury, everybody is ready to go and they look good.

Continue reading ‘Catching Up with Mitch Kupchak: Part I’

Suns say trading Marion is unlikely; All-Star plans to report for camp

Published by Shane Bien on September 27, 2007 in Articles. 19 Comments

The Arizona Republic: Suns forward Shawn Marion said he would show up Monday, the team’s mandatory reporting day, if his trade request is not met.

The Suns anticipate that no trade will be made and Marion will be smiling for photos Monday.

The predictions around the NBA are similar to ones inside US Airways Center.
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A sampling of executives and agents said it is unlikely that the Suns would move Marion before Monday. After Monday, it appears the Suns could stop exploring trade possibilities.

Marion, 29, went public Tuesday night with his trade request, which he made weeks ago to Suns management after another summer in which the team considered dealing him. He also is unhappy that the team seems unwilling to extend his contract, which has two years remaining.

“It’s sad to hear he wants to go,” Suns guard Steve Nash said after an informal workout Wednesday in which every Suns player except Marion and Brian Skinner was present. Skinner is expected to arrive and sign his contract Sunday.

“We’re very close to winning a championship,” Nash said. “We want everyone on board. All his teammates love him. We want him to be a part of this for sure, and we feel like he’s a big part of it. It’s frustrating to hear he’s unhappy, because we want him to be happy.”

The known trade possibilities involve Marion, a four-time All-Star, going to the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Lamar Odom and possibly forward Brian Cook or to the Utah Jazz for forward Andrei Kirilenko.

Continue reading ‘Suns say trading Marion is unlikely; All-Star plans to report for camp’

Source: Lakers grappling with Marion extension

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 26, 2007 in Articles. 19 Comments

SportingNews.com: There’s still no official word on the Shawn Marion-for-Lamar Odom swap detailed on SportingNews.com Tuesday. Marion told me he wants the deal to go down, and he sounded genuinely excited about the possibility of changing scenery. Marion also said he spoke with Kobe Bryant over the weekend and was left with the impression that Bryant supported the trade.

The Lakers, of course, need to appease Bryant. Bryant’s angry tirade in May about the Lakers’ inability to surround him with more talent became a major story of the offseason. The Lakers haven’t done much to improve their roster this summer, and while it could be argued that swapping Marion for Odom wouldn’t lead to significant improvement, it would at least be a change. And the Lakers need a change. If the Lakers are convinced Bryant wants this trade to happen, they’d be foolish not to pursue it.

So what’s the holdup? The deal was presented last week, giving the Lakers and Suns plenty of time to evaluate it.

As I said, there has been no official word. But a source close to the Suns says the Lakers are grappling with the same misgiving Phoenix has expressed: They’re wary of giving Marion an extension, which could cost in the area of $65 million over three years. If L.A. traded for Marion without extending his contract, Marion could opt out next summer and hit the free-agent market. The Lakers still could re-sign him then, but the team might not want to run the risk of giving up Odom, its second most important asset, only to watch Marion leave after one season.

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Kobe Wants Marion

Published by Kam Pashai on September 26, 2007 in Articles. 36 Comments

Let the trade scenarios begin…

ESPN: Shawn Marion was bringing the good news. If you’re a Lakers fan.

“I’m definitely interested in the Lakers,” the Phoenix Suns forward said.

More than that, he said he talked to Kobe Bryant, and Bryant “embraced it.”

Said Marion: “He wants to make it happen.”

If Bryant cares about what trades the Lakers make and thinks adding Marion would help, at least it’s an indication that he’s thinking about the Lakers as “we” not “them.”

Still, it’s hard to miss the irony of Marion’s wanting to fulfill his desire to be traded by joining a guy who kicked off this summer’s stream of trade wishes. Bryant’s radiothon at the end of May started a trend followed by Jermaine O’Neal, Andrei Kirilenko and now Marion.

“My name has been mentioned in trades over and over,” Marion said. “I’m tired of hearing about it. It’s time for me to take the next step and leave.

“It’s like a bad marriage. It’s time to get up. I love my fans, I love the city, I love my teammates. I just think it’s time for me to leave.”

The simplest way for him to get to Los Angeles would be for the Lakers to send Lamar Odom to Phoenix. Their salaries are close enough (Marion is making $16 million this season, Odom $13 million) and the cost-conscious Suns would shave $3 million off their payroll.

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Related:
Shawn Marion asked about Lakers (VIDEO)
Marion: “I think it’s time for me to move on.”

Lakers are what they are

Published by Jim Murdoc on September 26, 2007 in Articles. 2 Comments

L.A. Times: OK, guys, big smile.

Wait a minute, aren’t we missing someone?

Or not. After a summer of wondering if Kobe Bryant would show up, the Lakers will fly to Hawaii for training camp after Monday’s media session, with Bryant expected to be among them.

After demanding that the Lakers trade him in May and pointedly refusing to take it back in July and August, Bryant is back in touch and planning to be there.

“I have no reason to think he won’t report,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday.

“I communicate with Kobe. We’ve met. We talk on the phone, text [message], all of these things within the last month and very recently.”

If it’s not quite a happy ending, at this point the Lakers will settle thankfully for a happy beginning.

Bryant has already apologized for ripping Kupchak and railing about trading Andrew Bynum in a video recorded by three fans and sold on the Internet.

Continue reading ‘Lakers are what they are’