Lakers' Mitch Kupchak on Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, more

LOS ANGELES — Mitch Kupchak looks no different this year than any other.

Same understated demeanor. Same pragmatic approach to this job as Los Angeles Lakers general manager that he has had since 2000. Same penchant for avoiding the panic button like the plague.

So as he sat in the Staples Center media room on Tuesday, picking ever so slowly at the salad and salmon in front of him before the a loss to the Houston Rockets that sealed his team's fate as the worst of the Los Angeles era, he wasn't about to add any flair to a situation that has been so flammable of late.

Less drama. More patience. Kupchak, who first joined the Lakers as a player in 1981 and has been so underrated and overshadowed for so long since starting his post-playing career here in 1986, isn't about to change his successful ways now no matter how much has changed around him.

Phil Jackson won't be coming back, as his recent attempts to return eventually led to his hiring as New York Knicks team president on a five-year, $60 million deal. The late Jerry Buss has been gone for more than year now, with Kupchak, Jim Buss, Jeanie Buss and the rest still ironing out all the wrinkles that inevitably come with the passing of a legendary owner.

But Kupchak, who has four championships to his credit and no intention of shooting for anything less now, remains. On the night that news of his multiyear extension was first reported by ESPN, Kupchak sat down for an extensive interview with USA TODAY Sports to discuss the storied franchise and its uncertain future.

He may not be different, but he fully expects the current climate to change over time. Yet as he knows as much as anyone, it's just a matter of how long it might take.

Q: Your fans are going through culture shock right now. They've had a good run, but this generation hasn't seen a season like this.

A: Well, I don't know how you define 'generation.' I guess you could say that, but 10 years ago we had a year like this. But we haven't had a year like this in the last six or seven years, that's for sure. But we've had a bunch of years like this since I've been here. I've been here since '81, and there were three or four years in the early '90s, and then we had that year in '04. But we haven't had a year like this in eight or nine years, that's true.

Q: So that being said, Mitch, what's your outlook? Is it a situation where you have that experience from the past and you'll apply it here and move forward with confidence that this too shall pass, or where is your head at?

A: I'm confident that over time, that we're going to be able to assemble a team that's competitive, fun to watch. The advantages that this franchise and this city have always had remain, which is our fan base, it's a great city, players like playing here, there are a lot of diverse components of this city that attract players. The organization itself, its legacy. So those things don't change. Now the collective bargaining agreement changed considerably (after the 2011 lockout) the playing field. That's just the way the owners wanted it, and as a manager all we've ever said is just give us the rules and we'll play with the rules. But for example, when we signed Shaquille O'Neal (in 1996), Orlando made an offer and we topped it, and then Orlando topped it, and then we traded two players and got more cap room and then we topped it. They could have topped our offer and they chose not to.

So it could have kept going back and forth because there was no max salary, and there was no home-team advantage — 7½ percent (annual) raises versus four (percent), a five-year deal versus a four-year deal, those rules didn't exist (the current CBA gives the incumbent team this edge). So the playing field is considerably different. But having said all that, our advantages remain the same. And considering where a lot of teams have ended up in this kind of position, we have a lot of flexibility going forward. We don't have a lot of players that are good players but not great players who are on long-term deals. Those kinds of contracts can sometimes bury an organization for four or five years. Going forward it's pretty clean, so it's up to us to use that money wisely. We are going to have a good (draft) pick this year, so those are the advantages that we have. The short answer is that yes, I'm hoping to be very competitive in a year or two, but the key really is over time.

Q: I hear you on all of that but want to ask you about those advantages you guys have with the brand that comes with the Lakers and the history. If you combine the new CBA and the fact that (late Lakers owner Jerry) Buss is no longer with us, I think you'd probably agree it's an unsettling time for a lot of your fans. They don't have the confidence level and the personal history with Jim and Jeanie (Buss) running this.

A: I think that's natural. Dr. Buss passed away a year ago, and although he wasn't part of the day-to-day for four or five years before that, I think everybody took great comfort in knowing that the tough decisions — which may be one a year or two a year, whether it's on the business side or the basketball side — you can go to Dr. Buss and fall back on him.

Q: But the fans are one thing. Does him being gone cut into your ability to get players' attention when it comes to the perception of the franchise now?

A: You know something? I don't think players think that way. I was a player many, many years ago, and I didn't think that way. I knew who Dr. Buss was, but he wasn't really a factor other than he wanted me to come to L.A. At that point, he made a very fair offer and the city of Los Angeles — I was happy in Washington but I had the opportunity to come to L.A. Play with Magic, play with Kareem, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain. To me, that's what I thought about as a player. I didn't really say, 'Oh, it's Dr. Buss. I've got to go play for this guy.

Q: But you know the idea, that narrative that it's not the same Lakers anymore, that Dr. Buss did things a certain way and Jim and Jeanie can't figure out exactly how the power structure is going to work.

A: That's a process, and we are making progress. You can't lose the (key figure) of the organization as Dr. Buss, and then all of a sudden function without any, I guess, perceived criticism. You know, if we're having the season two years ago that we're having this year, and Dr. Buss passed away a year ago, none of this would be happening right now.

Q: None of what?

A: The controversy, the speculation. It's only because we're losing, and we're not losing because Dr. Buss passed away and made a bad decision, OK? We're losing because by and large, we haven't had a team to field all year long. So I think Dr. Buss' passing coupled with the season we're having is, for obvious reasons, leading fans — and the media either leads or follows suit — to run with this thing. Take it and run with it. If we're 55-20 right now, nobody is talking about anything, about Dr. Buss passing away.

Q: So on my short list of things to get clarity on is the dynamic between management and Kobe. You guys give him the extension, and I think the question a lot of people have now is that — because of what he has done for the organization, because of what you think he can do in the next couple of years — you do the extension but maybe Kobe doesn't still have the same voice that he had in the past and now it's time for the bosses to be the bosses. He's the one pressing the agenda, saying he's not going to wait and be patient (during a rebuild).

A: Not really.

Q: You don't think so?

A: He had that one outburst, but I think he got caught up in all the sensation of the moment — is Phil going to stay or is he going to go? He wants the same thing we want, which is to win as much as possible as soon as possible. I meet with him. (It's) not on a regular basis, but in the last two or three months we have met several times, and he gets it.

Q: Is that the norm or is that more than normal?

A: Well, it's more than normal because he's more available. He's hurt. I see him in the locker room, we talk. So that's all that was. That's all it was.

Q: Will he factor in on the decision about Mike?

A: We will not consult with him. No, we won't consult with him.

Q: Because when he was asked about Mike last week, the perception was that he didn't go to bat for him publicly. That started the storyline of "Well, Mike's not coming back because it doesn't seem like Kobe wants him back."

A: We won't consult with him. Our decisions going forward — we're not going to do knee-jerk stuff. We'll let the season end, and take some time. We've got a lot of injuries and surgeries to sort through. That's a lot to accomplish. We have the draft coming up.

Q: Do you have clarity on that (D'Antoni) decision yet?

A: No. No. In fact, I told Jimmy let's get to the end season, take some time off…then review the season. Look at our roster. I mean we have a plan. We've aligned our contracts in such a way where we're at a position where we're not financially stuck. But there's a lot we don't know. We don't know where we're going to get our pick. Are we going to be sixth, are we going to be eighth, are we going to be two or three? We don't know. We know who may be a free agent, but we don't know for sure until June 30.

So we know a lot, and we're set up to take advantage of the situations — whether it's to make a trade, take back a player, get a good draft choice, pursue free agency. But once again, it's a different world than it was 20 years ago. And as much as we'd like to be very competitive and competing for a championship next year, it may or may not happen, ok?

Q: So how's Kobe going to handle that?

A: He'll be fine. He's got no choice. He'll be fine. When we lose, he'll rant and rave and be upset and be hot and won't talk to anybody, but that's the way it is. You've got to take the good with the bad.

Q: How have you taken this year on a personal level?

A: It's a challenging year. From a basketball point of view, I've been ok. I really have. It gets to a point in the season where — I mean we obviously didn't expect Steve Nash to break his (lower leg bone) in the second game of the season this year, and he hasn't been the same player since. And I liked the group that we put together to start the season, despite being a lot of one-year guys. We started out, had a great camp, were playing fun basketball. Kobe had yet to come back, Steve was still working his way into it. I never thought we'd win 60 games. I'm thinking we could get into the 40s, get into the playoffs. And for a year where we had set it up to be in position going forward, that would have been pretty good.

But then Steve can't play and Kobe breaks his knee, and that starts it. Really at that point, other than getting through the trade deadline, there was really nothing to do. There was really nothing that we could do about it, that I could do about it, so there's a certain calmness that goes with that. Media, and the frustration with the fans — you know, by and large I think our fans have been pretty good…I don't think — other than those few people who get really emotional, that one person who calls the postgame show every day for like three weeks — I don't think it's a thousand people. I think it's the same two or three people. And it makes (the media's) job more interesting and more fun. It just does.

Q: But with all the talk about Phil here, those people don't often talk about how you're still here and what you've accomplished. Does that ever hit your ego, that idea that there's not more talk about "In Mitch we trust"?

A: Well the people that I need to know trust me, and they made it clear that they do. I understand from the public's point of view that Kupchak doesn't hold a candle to Jackson. Once again, it's a good story so that didn't really bother me. But the people in the organization certainly — Jimmy, and I know Jeanie — trust me too. And for over 30 years, Dr. Buss showed incredible trust and loyalty to me. So to me, that's what was important. That was it.

Q: Was there any internal discussion about Phil coming back, and where did you stand on that? How did that go?

A: Yeah. Yeah. I mean there was nothing formal. This went on for a year or two.

Q: But the most recent one.

A: Well I don't know when the most recent one was. We discussed a year or two ago about how could we — and this was Jimmy and I and I know he may have discussed it with his family — and it was open for discussion. And it was kind of a standing understanding, but I think Jeanie said it best two weeks ago. At the end of the day, there was no position for a person of his stature.

Q: What does that mean? Can you translate that? Because what it sounds like to me is that Phil is a larger-than-life figure and if he's coming he wants final say. Was that a factor?

A: Well I'm not sure that it got to that, but what we talked about was involvement and being a piece, a part of it. But based on where he ended up and what he got, it's easy to see why he did what he did. It's a no-brainer. Before you even get to the money, he got a wonderful — a challenging — but a wonderful opportunity. Logistically, he has got to work it out but, um, you know, it's one of those things where I'm not sure if it's what he was looking for but when it came on the table you can't turn it around.

Q: And that's the thing. Everything I heard at the time was that this is where he was trying to get back to.

A: Yeah. But now, you say, 'I've got a chance to be the guy, to be exactly what I want to be and on top of that they're going to pay me this, this, and this. It's just too good.

Q: You can't talk about free agents, but is it accurate that you're not going to reach for band-aid type player, that if a LeBron (James) or a (Carmelo Anthony)-type player aren't available, that you don't just do something to do something and that's where the patience comes into play.

A: Well, obviously we're not going to share our plan with you, OK? Our goal is not to go 41-41. That's not our goal. Our goal is to be considerably better than that. And maybe we can do it in a year, or maybe it takes two or three years, OK? Any of those scenarios would be wonderful scenarios. I mean there have been teams — seven or eight teams in the NBA who have never even been to the Finals of the NBA and they've been around 30 or 40 years.