Crisp and constantly sunny weather, the No. 2 media market in the country nestled right next to Hollywood and a rich franchise history are three reasons should make it very difficult for coveted NBA players to pass up playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. But the team has been unable to lure some of the league’s most prized free agents to the West Coast as of late.
The reason? Long-standing general manager Mitch Kupchak and his “style” when it comes to courting talent don’t mesh with free agents, sources, told ESPN. The story focused on how the Lakers plan to transition out of a very difficult four-season stretch and how legend and former point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson could help.
Other reasons, like the fact the Lakers haven’t posted a winning record since the 2012-13 season, and that no head coach has lasted longer than two seasons in L.A. since Phil Jackson left in 2011, have likely played a significant role in the franchise’s dearth of fresh talent from the free agent market.
But Kupchak was specifically singled out by one agent who’s worked with him on deals before.
“He’s the only GM in the league who won’t engage at all before 9:01 p.m. [PT] on the first night of free agency,” the anonymous agent told ESPN. “Then when he calls to express interest, there’s no stickiness to it.”
Sources also said it’s a credit to Kupchak that he doesn’t break league rules, which prohibit teams from contacting players or agents before their contracts have expired. But that was called a “lack of savvy” on his part.
The report focused on several players who L.A. missed out on signing, like Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, Toronto Raptors stud point guard Kyle Lowry, Houston Rockets shooting guard and this year’s leading Sixth Man of the Year candidate Eric Gordon and even former Portland Trail Blazer turned San Antonio Spur LaMarcus Aldridge.
Instead, Kupchak has landed players like forward Luol Deng (4-years, $72 million) and center Timofey Mozgov (4-years, $64 million). The latter deal was panned league-wide as way too expensive even after the new collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and league saw the salary cap balloon to new heights.
Evidently, Kupchak paid Mozgov, who had just won a title with Cleveland last year but averaged only 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13 appearances, so much because he didn’t want any other offers to lure him away, according to ESPN. And the same reasoning went into Kupchak’s decision to offer Deng four years instead of three like other teams had done.
A lack of funds or cap space certainly hasn’t been an issue for the Lakers recently. This season L.A. was No. 21 in remaining cap space, the same ranking it held the season prior when it was just $1.9 million over the cap and still had more than $12.7 million in luxury tax space, according to Spotrac. Although Kobe Bryant’s retirement did lead to more space for Kupchak to work with, which he then parlayed into Mozgov, Deng and others that haven’t resulted in much improvement.
But with Johnson, one of the most revered players of all time now helping, it’s possible the Lakers can turn things around this summer when a number of top free agents will be available. The team will have almost $6 million in cap space and nearly $26 million in luxury space to possibly land the likes of the Clippers Blake Griffin, the Warriors Andre Iguodala or even drive up the price on younger restricted free agents like Philadelphia’s Nerlens Noel or Washington’s Otto Porter Jr. next season.
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