Is Mitch Kupchak On The ‘Hot Seat?’
In 1981, the great Magic Johnson told Dr. Jerry Buss, ” “If we could get Mitch Kupchak, I know we could win.” While although Magic was referencing Kupchak as a player at the time, this statement still came to fruition for a near 30 years.
Kupchak became the apprentice to the legendary Jerry West and played a key role in bringing multiple NBA titles to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even once he had full GM duties in 2000, Mitch Kupchak still proved his genius with a stunning 7 NBA Finals appearances from 2000-2011, with a 5-2 record in those appearances.
“If we could get Mitch Kupchak, I know we could win”-Magic Johnson
Those days…are behind us now. Kupchak is 61 years of age, sometimes appearing as going on 160 with the status of the Lakers these days. Considering the current black hole, archaic method of thinking the team has fallen into, one wonders if Kupchak has lost his ‘mojo.’
Three coaches in the last 4 years, the Chris Paul debacle, the infamous Kobe contract, the Dwight Howard catastrophe, and the 2014 offseason of shame, the Lakers are in terrible shape. A once proud franchise has been reduced for nearly 3 years running as what all Lakers fans thumbed their noses at Clippers, Kings, and current defending champion Warriors fans as: Peasants. As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst put it, the Lakers are now at the ‘kiddie table.’
The incidental placements of Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and D’Angelo Russell were just that; incidental. The young, talented core of the Lakers was due to inept execution and planning during the summers to build a quality product on the floor by Mitch Kupchak. While worthy of being excited about the promise of these young players, one still remains to be worried about it in the same breath. As Laker fans refresh their twitters and exhaust their cell phone battery life for a second consecutive summer pining on a splash Lakers signing, the discontent grows louder for the calling of heads.
It’s not that the young talent is bad, it’s not that the Lakers don’t have a future, it’s that the Lakers don’t appear to have PLANNED a future in a concrete manner. Lakers off seasons have turned into a fiasco of hollywood promises, corny billboard pitches, TV executives, and weak twitter hashtag promotions. Kupchak seems to have made draft picks not because they wanted to, but because they HAD to. He’s typically over the years been one better at making trades, than he has signing big free agents. All the meanwhile, fielding this influx of quality, young, talent, is the rumors of the LaMarcus Aldridges, Rajon Rondos, and Kevin Loves of the world are coming to Los Angeles.
“They are now at the kiddie table.” – Brian Windhorst on Lakers’ inability to make a splash in free agency. http://t.co/K6q1DmpDUb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 2, 2015
Thus, sparking a confusion among the Laker faithful. Is this team rebuilding and planning to utilize it’s lottery youth? Or is this team looking to buy their way into the playoffs immediately with superstars? Or is it both?
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Well, due to recent events 48 hours into free agency, it can’t go both ways. And Jim Buss, Jeanie Buss, and Mitch Kupchak have to own that. Specifically, Mitch Kupchak has to own it. Let’s face it, Jeanie and Jim Buss are more PR and marketing side of basketball. And, Mitch Kupchak, with all his due respect and loyalty to the organization, has top billing as who is in charge. Jim sits to the side and trusts Kupchak with the keys to the ferrari, and he’s so far drove it off a cliff and is trying to back up the cliff instead of call for help. He simply does not seem to have the ‘it’ factor anymore to dig the Lakers out of this hole of confusion and disarray that they are in.
The positives are, we have 4, possibly 5, young, promising players who seem to have lots of potential and bright futures in Laker uniforms. However, that’s just being happy that you didn’t die for driving off the cliff recklessly. If this ferrari nose dives back down the cliff, it may call for the end of Mitch Kupchak’s long tenure as Lakers GM.