Lakers Draft: Mitch Kupchak Addresses Draft Night Strategy

Oh, the difference a year makes.

Last May, Mitch Kupchak had only to scour the top end of the draft. His Lakers only had their number seven pick. This year, with the second pick at their disposal and two more selections later in the draft (27 and 34, specifically), Kupchak and his scouting staff has plenty of work to do. He spoke about that, and more, Tuesday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo.

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All quotes from the Lakers’ official site.

"Q: On whether there is any anxiousness that comes with having the second overall pick:Kupchak: The anxiousness disappeared when I didn’t see Philly’s number come up at (No.) seven and six at the lottery last Tuesday. At that point we realized we had a top five pick and we were going to keep it. Of course, it got better; went from five to four to three to add to the tension. And we ended up with the No. 2 pick."

His thoughts matched mine almost exactly. The “anxiousness” from picking second in a draft where the Lakers might not have had their first-rounder at all is essentially the definition of a first-world problem.

"Q: On what he is looking for in the predraft workouts:Kupchak: Most of the players we’ve seen multiple times over the last three or four years. Typically the kids that are high draft choices go to school for a year or two. So you get to see them less. We’re not allowed in high school gyms anymore. So for example, if you were to guess that this year’s top seven or eight picks in the draft are the ones that you see in mock drafts, most of those kids are 19 years old. So you’ve seen them one year in college. Bringing them in this type of venue, a lot of (these) kids have been in school three or four years because they’re players that might be drafted in the second round, might not be drafted or might be drafted late in the first round. You’ll end up looking at a lot of players that went to school for three or four years. So it’s always helpful to bring them in, get another look at them, put them through skill (drills), do our physical testing. A lot of times we do interview kids and you get to know the kids."

Mitch offers a pretty cool look into behind the scenes of one of the busiest months of his year. Teams are drafting guys they might have for years to come based on an hour workout and whatever they might be able to glean from agent-made highlight reels.

"Q: On whether the process is a bit easier when having such a high pick:Kupchak: After the year we had, it’s nice to know what we have to work with going forward. We know we have 2, 27 and 34. That’s a good feeling. We can kind of put the season behind us and plan for the draft. Once the draft takes place, then we can continue to plan for what takes place on July 1 (free agency). So being able to put the season behind us and having something positive to show for it is a good thing."

Translation: “Our stealth tank succeeded in ways not even our greatest fanboys could’ve dreamt.”

"Q: On the team’s biggest needs:Kupchak: We have a lot of needs. We have a lot of players that were on one-year deals this year. We have players that have options, whether it’s a team option or a player option. So those questions remain unanswered. We have a lot of roster spots. Assuming we pick three players and keep them on the roster for next year, that takes up three roster spots, and that gives less opportunity to somebody else. But we don’t know if we’re going to draft three players. We don’t know if we’re going to have three picks. We may draft a player that you might have to wait a year or two for in Europe. We don’t know yet. But our roster looks better, clearly, after getting the pick in the lottery last Tuesday."

This is one of the most noteworthy statements from the media session. The Lakers are in no position to be choosey with prospects. Position, need and all those other pie-in-the-sky dreams will stay as such until this roster really comes together. Drafting for need is a tremendous way to hand-string a franchise as fear of duplication typically creates it in other positions. This, more than anything since actually keeping that top-five pick excites me about the Lakers’ rebuilding efforts.

"Q: On what he has to consider regarding possibly trading the No. 2 pick:Kupchak: Nothing’s really taking place in that regard. It would have to be a heck of an opportunity for us to consider doing something like that.Q: On what would bring him to consider trading the pick:Kupchak: You have to weigh it against who you think you’ll get with the second pick. We’re a little bit impatient, so if you came across something that would make your team better quicker — it would probably be a veterans — and that’s something you would consider. But there’s something to be said about having the No. 2 pick in terms of building going forward. You know you’re going to get a really good player. You know you’re going to get a player under a contract that you can control for at least five years for a reasonable amount before you have to consider an extension. So those are pluses in addition to getting a heck of a talent."

Mitch knocks this question out of the park, too. Basically, he’s saying that the Lakers would have to receive an insane offer to even consider trading this pick. Think of it this way: any move would essentially mean giving up two players.

Let’s say the Sacramento Kings called and said they’d give up DeMarcus Cousins the pick alone. On the surface, Cousins is a perennial 20-point, 10-rebound guy with the potential to play in All-Star games for the foreseeable future – especially playing on that Staples Center stage. Trading an unknown entity for that seems like the kind of move the Lakers have made historically to jump right into playoff contention.

That’s kind of the problem.

A draft pick, especially at the top of the draft not only means incredible potential, but the financial flexibility that comes with having them at roughly $5 million over the next four years. So while it’d be nice to have Cousins, you’d be giving up either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor PLUS a free agent who could fill in the nine-million-dollar gap between Cousin’s rate this year and the rookie scale at number two. A free agent at the level would be pretty good, and fill a need elsewhere on the roster.

Tuesday marked the beginning of a crazy process that concludes with draft night on June 25. A lot can obviously take place between then and now, but it’s definitely exciting to know Kupchak is saying all the right things in the meantime.

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