Draft deal unlikely for Lakers
JOHN NADEL
Tue, Jun. 27, 2006
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Try as they might, the Los Angeles Lakers have been unsuccessful in their attempts to make a deal and move up in the NBA draft.
That could still happen, but general manager Mitch Kupchak says he's not expecting it.
So the most likely scenario Wednesday night is that the Lakers will get the 26th overall pick - acquired from Miami in the Shaquille O'Neal deal two years ago.
And Kupchak doesn't expect that player to make an immediate impact.
"I think everybody wants to move up, there's a cost associated with moving up," Kupchak said. "We'd like to move up. (But) we don't have a trade about to happen, and we're not trying to trade Chris, Lamar or Andrew."
Kupchak referred to Chris Mihm, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum.
While Kupchak made clear there are no guarantees, he was quite specific regarding the 18-year-old Bynum, taken with the 10th overall pick in last year's draft.
Kupchak said Bynum has grown an inch during the offseason, putting him over 7 feet tall.
"We're not going to trade Andrew," Kupchak said. "We're very happy with his progress."
Kupchak sounded like he doesn't expect many other teams to wheel and deal, either.
"If there are going to be deals, teams are going to play their cards close," he said. "The closer you get to a deadline, you see what teams are willing to do. It's gamesmanship. We have an owner (Jerry Buss) who likes to play poker.
"Everybody wants to make a great deal. Quite frankly in this league, it's tough to make a great deal."
Kupchak acknowledged the Lakers' most pressing needs are in the backcourt, where Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA's biggest stars but there are shortcomings otherwise.
"It's not a stretch to say our backcourt needs to be addressed," he said. "We think we need another ball-handling guard. I'd like to think the player we pick in the draft will help us immediately, but I know that's unrealistic. I don't think we're going to get a backcourt player that's going to play for us next year."
That being the case, the Lakers will look for the best available player in the draft regardless of position, and try to improve the team next season through trade and/or free agency.
One player in the draft who would seem to fit the Lakers' immediate needs is Washington's Brandon Roy, a fine all-around guard who figures to be taken early in the first round.
"He can fit in to a lot of teams in the league," Kupchak said.
Their first-round playoff collapse against Phoenix notwithstanding, the Lakers improved significantly this season, going 45-37 and nearly advancing to the second round of the playoffs following a 34-48 campaign in which they failed to qualify for the postseason.
While Bynum hardly played and Mihm was sidelined with a sprained ankle, Odom and Kwame Brown made major strides late in the season.
Los Angeles has one other pick in the draft - the 51st overall selection. The Phoenix Suns own the rights to the 21st pick, which originally belonged to the Lakers.
Kupchak said the Lakers brought over 70 players to their practice facility for workouts.
Read more about it at Mercury News
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