Source VERY good informative interview. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Looking at the silver-haired general manager of the Lakers, always impeccably dressed, immersed in making draft picks, and trying to sign free agents and engineer trades, it is hard to remember that Mitch Kupchak himself was once a prized power forward, obtained by the Lakers from the Washington Bullets in 1981 for Jim Chones, Brad Holland and two draft picks. Kupchak was signed to a seven-year deal for just under $5.6 million. But Kupchak played only 26 games with the Lakers before a devastating knee injury knocked him out of the 1981-82 season and left him limping through a playing career that ended prematurely in 1986. Q: If I had told you when you first came out here to play for the Lakers that you would wind up as the team's general manager, what would you have said? A: Well, at that time, I was 27 years old, I had a seven-year-deal and my biggest concern was whether Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would still be around in the final years of my contract. The big reason I came out here, in addition to the money, was the chance to play with Kareem and Magic and those guys. As it turned out, of course, I retired when I was 32 and [Kareem] played until he was past 40. Q: What were you originally going to do when your playing career was over? A: At that time, I really had no idea. In college, I had had a double major in psychology and political science, but I didn't know what that qualified you for. I had dabbled in real estate back in Washington. But when you sign a seven-year contract, you put off those thoughts. Then, in my third month in L.A., I had the injury and, at 27, I was suddenly looking at my next career. I went from a guy who was starting with Kareem and Magic and Silk [Jamaal Wilkes] and Norm [Nixon] overnight to a guy whose career was probably over. It was that quick. I went into rehabilitation a couple of hours a day, but what do you do with the rest of the time? I enrolled at UCLA and ended up getting my master's in business. It took me over four years. Q: So how did your move into the Lakers' front office come about? A: I had finally returned to playing, but I reinjured my knee. Jerry West would watch me limp up and down the court and ice my knee. He said to me, 'Mitch, you don't have to do this. I see what you are going through. You know, I could use some help in the front office.' I had decided I wasn't going to play anymore after the 1985-86 season, but I was still trying to fulfill my contract. I had two more years left. So I guess I was just trying to make myself useful. Q: In the beginning, did you feel you had something tangible to contribute in the front office or was it more a case of West finding you busy work? A: My first year, it was kind of comical. I made it a point to come in early every day and then I left to go to class at UCLA. I was kind of a floater. There really wasn't even a spot for me to sit down. At that time, the assistant coaches, Bill Bertka and Randy Pfund, shared an office, a tiny office. I was able to get a desk in there as well. Jimmy Eyen [coach/scout/video coordinator] was also hired that year. We all had desks, facing the wall. When we leaned back, the backs of the chairs all touched. We also had a video guy, Ed Desser, so we put his stuff on a panel near the ceiling. By my second year, I got my own office. Jerry West shared everything with me. He wasn't trying to protect his turf. He wasn't questioning what my motives were. He was great, a true mentor. From day one, I was very involved. I sat down and asked him how to fill out scouting forms, what he looked for when he looked at a box score in the paper. I learned about the CBA. I did the scheduling for the preseason games. I did a lot of scouting. Jerry would let me go anywhere I wanted to go. Within a year or two, I was talking to other GMs. Q: If you disagreed with West, when did you reach the point where you felt comfortable saying, "That's a stupid idea." A: I'm not sure I ever said it that way. He would ask my opinion on players and I would try to be honest with him, give him feedback, but I would never say it like that. I don't know if he listened to me or not. He was very good at following his gut instincts. Q: When did you first think that West was going to leave, making you the general manager? A: About the second week I was there. I'm standing in the bathroom at the Forum, taking care of business and the door flies open and Jerry walks in, face red, smoke shooting out of his ears, every other word a four-letter word. He's ranting and raving, talking to me, but not really talking to me even though there's nobody else in there. I'm petrified. After about 35 or 40 seconds, he stops and says, "You know, I've had enough. I'm telling Dr. [Jerry] Buss I'm quitting and I'm recommending you for the job." And then he walked out. I'm still standing there, staring straight ahead at the wall, saying to myself, "I don't know if I'm ready for this job." Q: As it turned out, of course, West wasn't going anywhere. He stayed around for another 14 years. Over that period, how many times did he threaten to quit? A: Oh, 15 times, at least. Q: When the time did come you are now in your seventh season as the head of basketball operations did you feel you were ready? A: Yeah, I had the confidence. I knew I was prepared. I had put in my time. I was in my early 40s ... But there's a huge difference between sitting in an office and giving your opinion to somebody and getting opinions from people who then look at you when it's time to make a decision. When, during the draft, a league official says it's the Lakers' turn to make their pick, it gets quiet, really quiet, in the room, and you're the one who is accountable. You are going to be judged on the deals you make and the players you bring on board. It was a little awkward when I first took over. Jerry West had a statement released that he was retiring. We had a press conference at the practice facility, and nobody was there from the organization but me. Not even Jerry. I had to announce that he was leaving and introduce myself as the next general manager. I never had a formal discussion with Dr. Buss that I was going to be the next general manager. I just assumed that was the case unless he told me different. Jerry stayed on as a consultant for a while and we did talk. I would ask his opinions about players, but I never asked, would you do this deal or that deal, because that's the reason he retired. He got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. If it was appropriate to ask him those questions, he might as well have still been the GM. Q: Was the toughest time for you after the 2003-04 season when Shaquille O'Neal was traded and Kobe Bryant was debating whether to remain a Laker or leave via free agency? A: Yeah, no doubt. The decisions we made were very controversial, but very much thought out. We had tried to extend Shaquille's contract during that last season. We offered him a lot more money than Miami wound up giving him, and he had indicated it wasn't enough. He told us, if we didn't give him what he wanted, he would up his demands during the summer and we had already maxed out on what we were going to do. Kobe never indicated to us that, if Shaquille was going to stay here, he would not be here, or vice versa. So we kind of had to use our gut feeling. There was a limited time frame to trade Shaquille and, I guess you could say, maybe if we had waited three or four months, we could have done something different. But looking back on it now, ending up with Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown and Jordan Farmar, through the trade and draft picks in the Shaquille deal, yeah, I'm happy with that. I'm happy with where we are. Q: Looking back on your own career, how do view the knee injury, which was disastrous at the time, from a quarter-century later? A: In an odd way, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I've been in management almost three times as long as I was in the league as a player, and hopefully I'll be in this business for many more years to come.</div>
I like Mitch. In the beginning of the trade it was hard to like him because of the fall from stardom. However, he's a pretty smark guy and as of late he has made some clever moves. He get's alot of uneccesary hate, and I'm not just saying that because of the article.
<div class="quote_poster">Laker_fan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I like Mitch. In the beginning of the trade it was hard to like him because of the fall from stardom. However, he's a pretty smark guy and as of late he has made some clever moves. He get's alot of uneccesary hate, and I'm not just saying that because of the article.</div> Yeah I agree. Mitch Kupchak reminds me of George W. Bush in terms of how much hate they get for being stupid and making the wrong decisions. Mitch has done a great job as of late, and although every single Laker Fan(lol no pun intended Laker_Fan) thinks they can run the organization better than Mitch, that's simply not the case. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMonqfh69J4 ^^^plus, the dude was down. hahaha
<div class="quote_poster">Laker_fan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I like Mitch. In the beginning of the trade it was hard to like him because of the fall from stardom. However, he's a pretty smark guy and as of late he has made some clever moves. He get's alot of uneccesary hate, and I'm not just saying that because of the article.</div> Agreed. Mitch catches too much heat for my liking.
Man...after reading this and I'm pissed that other ppl don't know shiet and put the blame on Kobe when the Lakers dynasty era was over. Now, after Mitch clarified the situation, it was clearly Shaq's fault. He demanded and forced the Lakers management to make a decision, a tough one. I always thought Shaq was a big traitor when he's leaving the Lakers. Thanks god, the big dissel is out of town, I hate that dude ever since.
