Mitch Kupchak the Miracle Worker

In Mitch Kupchak’s job description there is not one word about being a miracle worker even though he is trying to turn paper into rock. He is trying to do the impossible and take a last place team and guide them to the playoffs. His strategy is that of a holy man. He is taking injured players and granting them immunity from their past. He is taking failed players and granting them one more chance at relevancy. He is taking new players and granting them an opportunity to build a career. This afternoon Mitch Kupchak had his press conference. It preceded the players and the coaches and the craziness that is Lakers media day, the normal three ring circus, a ritual in El Segundo every September. But Mitch got his words in first and he put an optimistic face on things as he should. He has to sell the team to the fans in the short term. The team’s play will do the rest, will bring everyone along or bring everyone to boredom, tears or anger.

Apr 14, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer (5) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Which brings us to Carlos Boozer. His injuries the past two years have been of the basketball kind in that he’s been particularly terrible like he forgot how to play. He shot a career low last year even as his rebounding stayed pretty consistent. Kupchak believes Carlos Boozer can play three or four more years; he is only 32. But he is an old 32, a less agile 32, a plodding power forward who often moves like his feet are in quicksand. Kupchak, in his remarks, referenced that this season will come down to his three veterans who are proven: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Carlos Boozer. But it’s a very basic question: what has Carlos Boozer proven in his career.

In both Utah and in Chicago he had disastrous playoff performances. He was an All-Star in 2006 and 2007, I’ll give him that. But seven years have passed since then and he’s gotten slower and unable to defend explosion in the paint. Leaving the Eastern Conference for the Western Conference means Boozer has to defend Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Derrick Favors, Anthony Davis. I could go on but what’s the point. Boozer was drafted in the second round because he lacked athleticism. That was a decade ago and he has only devolved.

Kupchak gets an “A” for rhetoric. His ride or die “we’re competing for a championship” was rather humorous but he knows championship teams are built in the summer. The Lakers are weak in the small forward position. Wesley Johnson will probably get the job by default but after four NBA seasons don’t we know who he is by now, not a starting small forward expected to go up against Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard and hold his own, make them respect him. The Lakers have no one to protect the rim, no shot blocker who penetrators have to consider before coming into the paint. They have no lockdown defender on the perimeter. No one on the roster, absent Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, has ever had an All-Star year much less been an All-Star.

Kupchak rubber stamped all the Kobe Bryant is back sightings. After observing him play in multiple locations Kupchak is convinced we will see the Kobe of old; of course we will. Kobe is Kobe and he has extra motivation after not playing for nine months. The question has never been Kobe’s heart or desire or work ethic or even his ability to identify how he needs to play and then to adapt. The question has always been February and a back to back game in Utah and he’s tired and his body is exhausted and the floor is wet and he slips and he crashes and then what? What happens to a team that still revolves around the Kobe Bryant sun?

Of that the miracle worker purposefully stacked his lineup just in case Kobe or Steve Nash succumb. Guards are everywhere. Jeremy Lin, Jordan Clarkson, Wayne Ellington, Xavier Henry, Nick Young. But from a glance if you look at all the different journeys of this Laker team it can make you dizzy with all the frequent flier miles. Jordan Hill has played on three teams. Ed Davis has played on three teams. Carlos Boozer has played on three teams. Wayne Ellington has played on five teams. Xavier Henry has played on three teams. Nick Young has played on four teams. Jeremy Lin has played on three teams. What Kupchak has done is collect spare parts in hopes of putting them together in a way no one else could do.

So maybe Mitch Kupchak is what we think he is. He is a miracle worker after all. Especially if he can assemble a crew like this and get them to play unselfishly and make the playoffs.