10 Reactions Following Lakers Exit Interviews

9. The Lakers will not be trading their draft pick

This is pretty much the exact opposite of how Mitch Kupchak said for most of his press conference. However, he’ll obviously do due diligence with the asset he holds. And of note, he referred to the draft pick as an asset many times. But there are too many hurdles and this draft class is too deep for the Lakers to move the pick. The Lakers would either have to draft a player and trade him for a superstar, or they’d have to receive a 1st round draft pick in return for trading their own. But could fans stomach possibly drafting a player like Jabari Parker, then immediately shipping him away for a one-year rental of Kevin Love?

8. 2015 might be a bigger summer than 2014

On top of talking about the asset that is their 2014 draft pick, Kupchak made it known that the Lakers likely won’t be blowing all their cap space this summer. His exact quote, which was one of the most poignant ones, was “We’ve worked four years to create financial flexibility. It’s not like we’re not going to use it all on July 8.” And he’s right. Short of getting LeBron, the Lakers aren’t going to fill up their payroll this year just because they can. They’ll spend it wisely, regardless of Kobe wanting to “win now.”