In a Q&A with Sports Illustrated, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said the team is trying to balance its No.2 selection in next week's draft between the long-term needs of the franchise and the goal of putting a contending team around Kobe Bryant before he retires. Kupchak also says there haven't been, nor will there be, conversations between he and Bryant regarding the Laker icon's future past next year when his contract expires. Kupchak has said in the past the indications are that Bryant will retire after 2016. Mannix: When you're making your decision here and you're going through this process, do you factor in Kobe Bryant's future? And when I ask that, I'm asking, are you looking for a guy that might be able to make a more immediate impact because Kobe's career is down to the last year, two years, whatever it is? Kupchak: To some degree. We feel we want to make significant progress from this year to next year. And if we can do that and not mortgage the future—in other words, with a player who is in free agency that's a veteran—then yeah. It's a factor because we do want and we need in this city to show progress. And we've not made the playoffs for two years running, I suppose you can do it a third year, but our fans are impatient, and they're used to a good product, and that's not what we want to do. And we know Kobe is not as happy when the town around him is not enough to win. But, we've got to be careful that we don't do something that puts us in the middle of the pack for the next six or seven years. Because all that does is get you the eighth seed in the playoffs and a draft pick that's not very good. Mannix: You've been asked all the time about Kobe's future. But I'm curious how many, if any, conversations with Kobe have you had, do you have, about what he wants to do beyond this season? Kupchak: Other than a conversation or so a year ago, really nothing, and I talk to him or, in this day and age, text, on a regular basis. And that doesn't mean once a week. Maybe, perhaps, if you average it over two or three months, it might come out to be once a week, but I would guess every couple of weeks he'll hear something, he'll call, he'll text, and I'll ask a couple of questions. Regarding his future, there's nothing really that's been discussed. In fact, a couple of weeks with all the rumors that were out there, I made some comments and I asked him, “Are you O.K. with my comments,” and he said “absolutely.” So, that's not something that really needs discussing right now. If there is a future beyond next year for Kobe, I don't think he even wants to talk about it until next year. It's a delicate line that Kupchak has to walk, and the team has been uncharacteristically considerate of Bryant's desires in the twilight of his career. Typically, the Lakers have always put the franchise first, i.e. trading Shaq, moving on from Phil Jackson -- though that wasn't a great move--, etc. With Bryant they've shelled out a cap-debilitating contract and committed to keeping him as long as he desires (though a contract the size of his last two-year, $48 millon extension is unlikely). - See more at: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...ting-without-certainty-of-kobe-bryants-future
