FanHouse MitchKupchak

LAS VEGAS -- Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was sitting courtside watching the Clippers' future franchise player, Blake Griffin, drop 17 first-half points on his Lakers. And the person who may defend Griffin in the paint during the regular season doesn't look any more closer to returning to the Lakers than last week.

Lamar Odom remains an unrestricted free agent and Kupchak said progress has come to a halt, despite Trevor Ariza leaving L.A. for the Houston Rockets last week. Odom is free to sign with any team and may be the league's most attractive free agent on the market. Still, Kupchak appeared bleak when asked about the prospects of bringing Odom back, which could be critical to the Lakers' chances of defending their NBA title.

"The word I used last week was 'hopeful' so let's take it from there," he said Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center. "I am really not sure where we are right now. We have made no plans to talk [with his representatives]."

There's no way the Houston Rockets can beat the Lakers in Game 7 today ... is there?

It's head-scratching enough that Houston has pushed this series to the limit and won two games since Yao Ming got hurt back in Game 3. It seems almost too loony to think that the undermanned Rockets can go into Staples and lay another "L" on L.A.

But what if they do? What if Houston eliminates the Lakers? Then what? Where would the Lakers go from there?

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The last we heard from Andrew Bynum he had just been cleared to start conditioning drills. After six weeks in the gym, is his surgically-repaired left knee holding up? According to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, yes, yes it is. Kupchak traveled to Atlanta this week to gauge with his own eyes Bynum's progress, and his report should relieve nervous Laker fans.From Janis Carr from the Orange County Register (via TrueHoop):

"I could see improvement in his body, his conditioning and mobility," Kupchak said. "I didn't see any signs of effects from the surgery."

Kupchak said he expects Bynum to report to training camp at full strength, considering camp doesn't start for another month.

"He told me that he is ready to comeback (to L.A.) to start playing full-court drills," he said. "He sounded eager to play."

This is great news, though the true test will come in the exhibition season once he starts banging with opposing big men who hold no regard for his health.

The next step? Getting that money. He's hoping for a maximum contract worth $80 million over five years. If he stays healthy and bounces back this season, he should get it. He'll be a restricted free agent next summer, and if the Lakers don't lock him up, he'll be able to mint his own money as an unrestricted free agent in 2010. It seems like every other team in the league is clearing space under the cap to go nuts that summer, and a 22-year-old double-double machine should be near the top of everyone's shopping list.

Maybe Ron Artest will be connected with the Lakers so regularly this offseason he'll just be acquired by osmosis. As annoying as the microreportage might become, we at FanHouse feel obligated to keep you as knowledgeable as possible about every detail of the Ron-L.A. courtship.

That said: two interesting data points. Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee -- who has owned this story in the traditional press -- apparently went on the radio in Southern California last week to report a lower-level member of the Buss family (owners of the Lakers) told L.A. general manager Mitch Kupchak to get Artest in a Laker jersey.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein backs this up.

Word is L.A. believes that any fears about Artest's reliability can be assuaged by the fact that Phil Jackson would be coaching him and that Kobe Bryant would be his teammate. Kobe and Ron-Ron share a mutual respect that suggests no threat to the Lakers' pecking order.

Insists one source close to the process: "[Lakers owner] Jerry Buss actually likes Ron Artest's game and his personality."

Buss might be the only person in existence who could make that claim. (I kid, sorta. I'm not a hater, Ron!)

To wrap this up, let's go with the truly bizarre from a Bee blog post by Scott Howard-Cooper, in which, for the first time in his career, Artest doesn't say too much in an interview.

It is a shame that the Lakers will not be losing any major pieces to their Western Conference Champion squad during the offseason. Because, really, watching Kobe Bryant spend the entire offseason crying whining trying to do Mitch Kupchak's job last year, well, that was just enjoyable for everyone.

Instead, Mamba has promised to keep his hands off and his mouth shut when it comes to the front office work as the Lakers prepare to make a run at a title in 2008-09.

'I'm comfortable with what we have,' he said. 'Whatever Mitch decides to do, he decides to do. It's more of a relaxing summer for me because I know we have an opportunity to win. It's exciting.

[...][Waiting for next year is] going to be tough, but I'm just happy to know that we're invited to the party,' he said. 'When you're invited, you dance with a hot chick. You can pull a beautiful one or you can pull one that's not as good looking. You can either go in the first round and get knocked out or you can go to the championship.'

The NBA named their Executive of the Year today, and not surprisingly, the prize went to the Celtics' Danny Ainge. The Celtics were able to go from one of the worst teams in the league a season ago to the team with the most regular season wins this year, a feat that's worth recognizing to some extent. But as our headline states (sentiment courtesy of Matt Moore), Ainge was really more lucky in getting Garnett (by way of his relationship with Kevin McHale) than he was skillful in pulling off any amazing deal.

The alternatives to Ainge though aren't really that exciting either. The Lakers' Mitch Kupchak finished second, largely because he didn't acquiesce to Kobe's off-season trade demands, and because he was able to get Pau Gasol from Memphis for Kwame Brown. As great as that deal was though, Mitch wouldn't have even pursued it had Andrew Bynum not gone down with a knee injury. Still, Kupchak is the one who put together this Laker roster over several seasons, and now that it's all come together, he seems like the logical choice.

One final note on this award, and that's the fact that inexplicably, third place went to Hornets' GM Jeff Bower. Now, either the people who vote for this award are completely lazy, or they simply don't know what they're talking about. The only difference between this year's Hornets roster and the one from last season is the addition of Morris Peterson and Melvin Ely. So those guys are the reason NOLA has the Spurs down 3-2? I don't think so. Plus, Bower didn't even draft Chris Paul or Davd West, so how he can receive so much credit for the team's success this season is beyond me.

It has been mentioned, albeit briefly, and certainly only as a rumor, that the Lakers' sudden move to scoop up Pau Gasol was in response to the possibility that Andrew Bynum would miss the rest of the season with the knee injury he sustained on January 13 (ironically against Memphis; maybe Chris Wallace just felt bad about the whole thing).

But it appears, at least according to the latest word from the Lakers' medical staff, that Bynum's healing process is moving along at the same pace they originally thought it would.

He would return the week of March 9 if he came back eight weeks from the time of the injury.

'That was kind of the thought when the injury happened,' Lakers spokesman John Black said Friday. 'We have no reason to change that right now. We will continue to monitor it.

'As far as the swelling goes, it looks more normal. He's definitely not running or jogging, but he's continuing treatment.'

Now personally, that type of statement makes me a little nervous. It's just so vague and not-pessimistic (as opposed to actually being optimistic) but if I was spinning the PR in Hollywood, I wouldn't want to make any faulty promises and have Jack go all Departed on me either. Of course, Kobe Bryant is particularly optimistic and well spoken about the whole thing.

It would be very easy to assume that Jerry West had his grubby little old man hands all over trade that sent Pau Gasol to the Lakers for what some important NBA people, like Gregg Popovich, are calling "beyond comprehension." He is, after all, the strongest possible link that you could find between the Lakers and Grizzlies. But in reality, West's hands are probably as far from grubby as they get and he had absolutely nothing to do with the deal, if you're willing to believe him.

Mitch Kupchak's acquisition of 7-footer Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks -- a trade West said he was not involved in, contradicting the rumors and conspiracy theories that have buzzed around the Internet -- was a good one, he believes.

West also added that it was a "... terrific deal for the Lakers ..." and a "... steal for the present ..." Well, I think everyone has heard more staunch denials (at least act like it was good for both sides, Jerry), but West, in my book, has enough cred to trust his word. On the other hand, it's pretty freaking ludicrous to try and ignore the fact that West has worked with and molded two organizations, Los Angeles and Memphis, over the recent years, and those two teams just happened to be involved in a blockbuster deal that got them both exactly what they wanted. Then again, when has force feeding Chris Wallace a fifth of Grey Goose over the course of eighteen holes and having him sign "your scorecard" at the end of the round* actually count as being "involved" in anything? Seriously though, even if West called Wallace up and told him to take the Lakers' deal ... who cares? Since when has being in the business world not been about who you know?

*Most likely a fictional scenario.

Back when Boston traded for Kevin Garnett (replete with a rather fat extension), we noted the Celtics had forfeited all breathing room for three shots at a title. (And everyone involved surely thinks it was worth it.) Los Angeles has the same deal going with today's trade for Pau Gasol.

The Lakers stand to sit over the luxury tax threshold for 2008-09 by a few million dollars... with nine players locked up. Ronny Turiaf will cost about another million, and the Lakers have several second-round picks this summer to fill in the slots. But -- unless Mitch Kupchak frees up some room via trade -- every signing will cost double his salary when you add in the luxury tax.

There's one more thing: This summer, Andrew Bynum is eligible for a contract extension, which would kick in for the 2009-10 season. If L.A. does not sign him this summer, he would a restricted free agent in 2009. That fat contract (starting around $13 million/year) will negate any relief from Lamar Odom's contract expiration after 2008-09. In that summer, Kobe Bryant can also take an extension or opt out for a bigger maximum contract. So unless Kobe takes off (which allofasudden seems unlikely), this team should be paying the luxury tax and scraping to fill roster spots for three more years.

This shouldn't be a problem for Jerry Buss, and all told the depth on this roster today (Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher, Trevor Ariza, Vlad Radmanovic) is phenomenal. Also, with Bynum so young, the team is in decent shape once the primes of Kobe and Gasol have passed (especially in comparison with Boston, whose top youngsters are... Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis). When KG's done, Boston's done. When Kobe's done, L.A. will still compete. At this moment, it appears Mitch Kupchak's outmanuevered Danny Ainge (and both have destroyed the rest of the contenders).
Sorry, No Photos

Just because you're an owner doesn't mean you're above the law: David Stern cracked down on Lakers owner Jerry Buss on Wednesday by announcing that Buss would be fined $25,000 and suspended two games for a drunk driving conviction in September following an arrest last May.

To be honest, all of this is very confusing to me. I like the message Stern is sending, but owners can be suspended? How does that work? I mean, Buss doesn't actually do anything, at least, not as far as the play on the court is concerned. Does a suspension only apply for home games? It seems not, as the L.A. Times reports that Buss will miss Friday's game in Phoenix as a result of the punishment (not to mention the convenient fact that not all owners actually travel with the team).

Who knows, maybe Buss' suspension will include talking to the press, which I think would suit Magic Johnson just fine. Magic, a minority owner in the Lakers, was critical of the team during Tuesday's TNT telecast regarding all of the public drama Buss has helped stir up regarding Kobe Bryant. From the Times:

"Right now you have too many voices -- Jim Buss, Mitch [Kupchak], you have too many people talking.

"Dr. Buss, if he wants to take the reins and be the only voice, he should be the only voice. Or if it's Mitch, whoever it is, it should just be one voice like we used to have with Jerry West."

I'm curious: does the "one voice" suggestion apply to Magic, too? Or are part-owners who are also part-time NBA analysts conveniently exempt?

Previously on FanHouse:
Magic Defends Fans Who Booed Kobe
Jerry Buss Goes Paris Hilton, Gets Busted for DUI