Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is finding creative ways to put a positive spin on a lost season.
And that partially explains why the Lakers are in the state they currently reside.
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Kupchak managed to take some heat off coach Byron Scott by removing him from blame for refusing to develop Los Angeles' younger players.
"Under normal circumstances [in a season like this], at some point, you would probably concentrate on just developing all your young players," Kupchak told ESPN on Tuesday. "But we can't do that right now.
"This [season] is really a justified farewell to perhaps the best player in franchise history. And, God-willing, he's going to want to play every game and he's going to want to play a lot of minutes in every game, because that's just the way he is.
"And as long as that continues, which it should, then that's 30-35 minutes that you might give to a young player that you can't. How do you get a feel for your team going forward when you know that your best player is not going to be there next year? So it's really hard to go forward until he's no longer here."
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Kupchak defended scrapping the season to pay homage to Kobe by saying the team wasn't ready to contend this season, anyway.
"I was hoping that our young players, in conjunction with the veterans that we added, and Kobe at full health, would lead to a better record than what we have today," he said. "I didn't have any visions that we'd win 50 games or 45. Could we have won 45 or 40? I guess it's possible. In fact, it still is possible."
But that comment flies in the face of what Kupchak said to ESPN in July, when the team missed out on signing LaMarcus Aldridge but did add Lou Williams, Brandon Bass and Roy Hibbert.
"Asked whether the Lakers, as currently constructed, could make the playoffs this coming season, Kupchak said, 'It's a little early, but I would say yes. ... I don't see why we don't contend for a playoff spot. But our young players have to grow beyond their years, and we have to stay healthy,'" ESPN reported.
Granted, Kupchak was not certain before the season that Bryant would retire after this season. But the Lakers didn't exactly put the team on hold to celebrate the retirements of Magic Johnson or Jerry West.
Kupchak also reasoned that the Lakers' pitch to free agents next summer will be stronger than it was last season, but why would a free agent come to Los Angeles if the Lakers' young talent still needs another season to mature?
As much as Lakers fans love Kobe, they'd still rather see the young players try to get wins than him go 0-for-10 in fourth quarters like it's some kind of tribute to him.
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