A controversial figure, often oscillating between Executive of the Year candidacies and questionable choices, Kupchak’s loyalty to the Lakers has never been in question.
This year marks the 23rd season for Mitch Kupchak as General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, a long-tenured career characterized by a good amount of success and five NBA titles.
The recent years have been a challenge for the executive and it looks like his job could be at risk. However, it is not the first time in his life his career is put in jeopardy by a difficult situation. His journey began long before he donned a tie for the Purple and Gold.
The 6’9 forward’s career started with great success with an All-Rookie Team selection and an average of 16.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in the postseason for the Washington Bullets.
He then proceeded as a key member of the 1978 NBA Champion Bullets in his second season.
In 1981 he was acquired by the Lakers.
Fresh off a disappointing exit in the first round of the playoffs, it was Magic Johnson who expressly requested his acquisition, convincing Jerry Buss that he could be the missing piece to a return to contending.
His fit with the Showtime was perfect. Unfortunately, 26 games into the season, he suffered a devastating knee injury. An ACL tear which almost put an end to his playing career.
However, after almost two years away from the court he manged to comeback and win a championship with the Lakers in 1985. He was not the player he used to be prior to the injury, though.
Was it today he would probably have come back at full strength, but in those years there was not guarantee to make a complete recovery.
Back to school
While rehabbing, facing the real chance to not be able to resume his career, Kupchak invested part of the money he was earning to get a Master of Business Administration at UCLA. At the same time he started to cooperate with the LA’s front office paving in fact the way for his future in the organization.
In 1986 he retired from playing and was hired as Assistant General Manager to Jerry West. He had the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest executives of the NBA, while the Lakers kept cruising the NBA, reaching four finals and winning two more championships in five years.
More from Lakers History
- 5 biggest contracts in Los Angeles Lakers history
- Ranking 24 worst Lakers starters of the Kobe Bryant era
- Answering the Magic Johnson vs Stephen Curry debate
- Ranking the most influential Lakers players of all time
- Remembering Kobe Bryant’s most iconic Lakers teammates
In 1994 Mitch was promoted to General Manager, but he remained in the shadow of West, nominated Vice President of Basketball Operations.
The two proceeded to the rebuilding of the Lakers in the post-Showtime era, following the retirement of Magic Johnson.
They managed to turn the Lakers in a relevant team with a young core of Vlade Divac, Nick Van Exel, Cedric Ceballos and Eddie Jones.
Then, in 1996, they signed Shaquille O’Neal and drafted Kobe Bryant to assemble a team of four future All-Stars (O’Neal, Bryant, Van Exel, Jones).
First in command
The 1999-00 season was a turning point. Beyond hiring Head Coach Phil Jackson and winning the first championship of the Kobe-Shaq era, Jerry West resigned at the end of the season, finally leaving Kupchak in full command of the front office.
He lived up to the situation adding pieces to keep the Lakers successful in the following years.
Horace Grant and Samaki Walker proved to be vital to the Three-Peat run.
In 2004 the acquisition of Karl Malone and Gary Payton didn’t get the desired effect, but remains a masterpiece from a managing standpoint.
Anyway, don’t forget that part of the reason of the successful transaction was the age and desire to win a championship of the two hall of famers.
In the summer of 2004 the feud which had fired up LA in the previous years came to an end when the Lakers dealt Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat in a (then) controversial decision to keep Kobe Bryant as future of the team.
In change they received a nice package consisting of Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round draft pick. But no one could fill the void left by Shaq and they missed the playoffs for the first time in 18 years.
Furthermore, the following season, Mitch made the wrong call to trade the young up-and-coming Butler for former first overall pick Kwame Brown.
For the first time Kupchak’s abilities were tested.
Under pressure, with a team struggling to get results and superstar Kobe Bryant wanting to leave, he pulled out a trade to get rid of Kwame Brown and obtaining All-Star Pau Gasol from Memphis.
Paired with Bryant and the emerging Andrew Bynum, they brought LA back to contention winning two championships in 2009 and 2010.
Vetoed trade and consequences
In 2011, after a questionable decision to not hire assistant Brian Shaw as Head Coach following the retiring of Phil Jackson, Mitch came up with another deal which would have revitalized Lakers’ championship aspirations.
He orchestrated a three-team trade to get the best point guard in the NBA, Chris Paul, sacrificing big men Odom and Gasol.
CP3 and Bryant would have formed a big three with the young Bynum, on the verge of becoming an All-Star.
Unfortunately, this trade was vetoed in the most controversial act by then-commissioner David Stern, killing LA’s hopes and marking the beginning of years of struggles.
The following summer Kupchak returned to attack, signing free agent Steve Nash and trading Bynum for Dwight Howard.
He also managed to add Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks to the bench of a team featuring an All-Star starting lineup of Howard, Gasol, World Peace, Bryant and Nash.
This superteam underachieved tremendously, because of numerous factors, not least injuries, but Mitch’s work was outstanding.
However, a controversy surrounding the Head Coach took place again.
With five game into the season and only one win, Mike Brown was fired and, with the chance to sign Phil Jackson, the staff didn’t wait for his answer and decided to hire Mike D’Antoni.
Many rumors followed the move. Was it Dr. Buss’s last decision for the Lakers? A product of the bad relationship between Jackson and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Jim Buss? It has never been clarified, but the choice they made was probably the wrong one.
Afterwards, as we know, the last seasons have been really difficult following Bryant’s Achilles injury and Howard’s departure.
Jim Buss’s self-imposed deadline is approaching and it seems like Kupchak might lose his job, as he is blamed for the team’s shortcomings too.
Considering his previous results and achievements, and the strong feeling around the league that LA’s bad times and wrong decisions should be attributed to Buss’s incompetence and lack of maturity, I think Mitch Kupchak deserves a fair chance to act on his own again, without any interference, and show he can turn the situation around as he did in the past.
Does Kupchak deserve more time? Should the Lakers move on from Mitch? Let us know in the comments below.