Kupchak Admits To Tanking Without Admitting Lakers Are Tanking
It would be far beneath his dignity as a NBA General Manager for Mitch Kupchak to ever say out loud the Lakers are in “tank strategy mode.” So, he tried to dress it up. He phrased it more politely for the palate. He said the Lakers were focused entirely on the draft. “We have to find out if we’re going to have a Top 5 pick.” Translation: no reason to upgrade talent right now. It hurts the bottom line.
On January 23, 2015, the tanking strategy went into effect. Robert Sacre was the starting center. Ryan Kelly was the starting small forward. Rookie Jordan Clarkson was the starting point guard. This is textbook on how to lose games in succession. Since then, the Lakers have won one game (Chicago Bulls) and they needed double overtime to do it.
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Kupchak, in his talk with media members, expressed a desire to not pay “old veterans”. Of the point guards traded yesterday, who in this group is old?
Michael Carter Williams is 24. Brandon Knight is 24. Reggie Jackson is 24. Isaiah Thomas is 25. Norris Cole is 26. Goran Dragic is 28.
Kupchak also portrayed a front office in which the influence of Jim Buss was no better and no worse than his father, Dr. Jerry Buss.
In his tenure as Lakers Vice-President of Basketball Operations, Jim Buss has distinguished himself as the man behind the curtain who arbitrarily makes decisions. Kupchak objected to that caricature of Buss, noting it was a portrait that lacked accuracy. At one point, he said that Buss defers to him when there is a tie in the room.
For the most part, Kupchak wants all of us to give Jim Buss a break, stop treating him like a villain. But therin lies the problem. Kupchak is defending Buss instead of Buss defending Buss. It de-legitimizes Buss as a leader, as if he needs Kupchak to fight his battles. As if he has no backbone.
The problem with Buss is his lack of accountability to the public, an unwillingness to face the music. It is perceived as arrogance or lacking compassion. It only exaggerates a portrait of an entitled, uninformed, rich kid who inherited daddy’s business and is running it into the ground. The opposite is probably true. Buss, wants the same thing for the Lakers that we ultimately want. But, because Buss refuses to lay out his vision, the perception of him is of continued incompetence.
Don’t look for that to change anytime soon. Or, the Lakers tanking strategy.
Next: Mitch Kupchak: Lakers Focused On Draft, Not Risking Future