The Los Angeles Lakers are in an awkward situation as they balance Kobe Bryant's final season with the development of their young players. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak admitted as much at a season-ticket holder event over the weekend, saying the franchise "cannot move on" until Bryant leaves, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers GM admits team ‘cannot move on’ until Kobe Bryant retires
Mitch Kupchak told season ticket holders that this year is “dedicated to Kobe and his farewell.”
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
“This is a year that’s dedicated to Kobe and his farewell,” Kupchak said. “From my point of view, it gives me complete clarity. ... We know what our [salary] cap situation is going to be like.”
On Tuesday, Kupchak elaborated on those comments.
“Under normal circumstances [in a season like this], at some point, you would probably concentrate on just developing all your young players,” he said to ESPN. “But we can’t do that right now.
“This [season] is really a justified farewell to perhaps the best player in franchise history. And, God willing, he’s going to want to play every game and he’s going to want to play a lot of minutes in every game, because that’s just the way he is.”
Lakers head coach Byron Scott has been soundly criticized for playing Bryant big minutes and enabling him to shoot as much as he wants despite his 34 percent accuracy. While Scott still deserves some blame, it's clear that general mindset is coming from the top. Bryant, who could have both his No. 8 and No. 24 retired, has given his entire career to the organization. This final season will be all about him, for better or worse.
Even so, Kupchak remains excited about his young core, though they've taken their lumps this season. D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle have had their issues with Scott, but they remain promising prospects along with Jordan Clarkson and the surprisingly effective Larry Nance Jr.
Those young players can learn from Bryant’s wisdom now and take advantage of what opportunities they do get, opportunities that may become larger and larger as the year wears on and Kobe deals with health issues.
“Our younger players can make mistakes and it can kind of go under the radar because Kobe garnishes so much attention,” Kupchak said to ESPN. “Every game, it’s about Kobe. Even when he doesn’t play, it’s about Kobe. So in a lot of regards, there’s a silver lining that our guys can develop under the radar and maybe make a mistake or make two mistakes and it not be a big deal.”
The Lakers have shown some progress over the last week, as they're currently on a three-game winning streak. Kupchak admitted that he's conflicted when the team wins games because their first-round pick goes to the Philadelphia 76ers if it falls outside the top three.
However, Kupchak said the Lakers have no intention of tanking and the instructions are to win as many games as possible. From there, they’ll “let the chips fall where they may.” Even if Los Angeles loses that pick, it’ll still have those young players and a lot of cap space to make additions.
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