We sat down with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak to discuss his outlook on the team heading into the playoffs, his staff’s approach to the coming NBA Draft as well as free agency and, of course, to detail his alma mater UNC’s involvement in the NIT and hated rival Duke’s National title.
MT: Sorry Mitch, but I have to start with the fact that Duke won the National Championship. There are few prouder North Carolina alums than you – you’re even wearing Tar Heel colors right now – so the question is, could you bring yourself to draft a Duke player?
Kupchak: It would be very hard to do that. (long pause) But I work for the Lakers. Whatever the best player is, regardless of where he goes to school, but it would be very difficult to draft a Duke player.
MT：米奇，很抱歉，但是我必须从杜克赢得冠军开始。与你的北卡校友相比，很少有人会比你对母校有更高的敬意—甚至你现在还穿着Tar Heel（这是北卡的队名）的队服—所以，问题就是，在选秀时，你会选择一名杜克球员吗？
米奇：这对我真的很难。（长时间的沉默）但是我为湖人工作。只要是好的球员，不管他来自哪所学校，但是选一名杜克球员还是很困难的。
MT: Carolina in the N.I.T. couldn’t have been the best thing ever for you, I suppose?
Kupchak: I’ve taken a lot of hits for that. But they did have four guys go into the NBA and they won an NCAA championship last year. They’ll be right there again next year with a great recruiting class. When you show your colors like I do you’re exposing yourself; most of us that went to school there don’t hide that fact. Look around the office here*. There’s a great rivalry with that other school in Durham, so even though it’s been 30 years since I left, I have a strong allegiance to that program.
*Editor’s note: We’re talking a plethora of Carolina gear, trophies, jerseys, framed pictures, you name it.
MT：我想，北卡在NIT的表现对你来说是迄今为止最美妙的事情，是吗？
米奇：关于这点，我想了很多。但是他们4名球员进入了NBA，去年他们也拿到了NCAA的总冠军。明年他们带着新班底还会回来的。当你穿上你所喜欢的队服时，你就会想去呐喊欢呼释放自己；去北卡上学的我们从不掩饰这一点。看下这间办公室。在达拉谟，与另一所学校还有很大的竞争，所以尽管我离开已经有30年，但是我依旧忠于这个计划。
编辑语：对于北卡，我们谈论了很多，包括那些奖杯，球衣，镶框的照片，不甚枚举，总之是你所能想到的。 MT: Yeah kind of like my allegiance to Northwestern and the great hoops program we have there…
Kupchak: Almost the same thing.
MT：就像是我们对西北学院的篮球培养计划那样吗？
米奇：差不多就是那样的。 MT: Let’s just hope you’re not in the position where a Dukie is the best player on the board.
Kupchak: I’d probably let (assistant GM) Ronnie Lester step in.
MT：那我们就祈祷，在球员板上，杜克不是那名最好的球员。
米奇：那我可能会让助理经理Ronnie Lester来跟进。 MT: OK moving on, while announcing Kobe Bryant’s contract extension you had said that, sure, you were concerned with the team’s level of play, but that ultimately you trusted them: “This team certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt until the playoffs are over.”
Kupchak: You can look at it several different ways. The simplest is, what’s your record going into the playoffs over the last 10 games (4-6) or 15 games (9-6), and our record is not that good. So your first thing would be, well I’m concerned, and rightfully so. But another way to look at it is to question why the record not that good. Well, you have injuries. You have a veteran team. Look back to 2001 and 2002. In 2001 we won 56 games and won a championship, and in 2002 we won 57 games and we won a championship. So the fact that you’ve gone from 60-something wins to 50-something, it doesn’t mean that you are or aren’t going to win again. At the end of the day, we’re not talking about an inexperienced roster or coaching staff, so that led me to say what I said. This team, based on what they’ve accomplished and not just recently deserves the chance to go into the playoffs and make any adjustments that they feel necessary, and to play. We all know that no matter what happened 10 days ago or three weeks ago, everybody will be evaluated based on how the season ends.
MT：那好，我们继续。当宣布科比的续约消息后，当然，你时刻关注着球队的进展，但是最终你选择了相信他们：“到季后赛结束，这支球队会告诉人们他们是最好的，所有的疑虑不攻自破。”（这个提问，就是想表达的是，当科比续约后，湖人的战绩并不好）
米奇：对这个问题，你可以从不同的角度去看待它。最简单的就是，在常规赛还剩下10场或者15场的时候，球队的战绩如何，而我们的成绩并不是很好（湖人最后10场4胜6负，最后15场9胜6负）。所以，你最先关注的，我所看到的正是如此。但是另一方面来看，就是问题是为什么战绩不好呢？对，我们有伤病。我们的队伍是由经验丰富的老将组成的。追溯到2001和2002年。在2001年，我们常规赛56胜，获得了总冠军，在2002年，我们常规赛57胜，也获得了总冠军。所以，事实上，不管你常规赛是60+的胜场，还是50+的胜场，这都不意味着你会不会卫冕。在常规赛结束的那天，我们没有提及任何一个不成熟的球员或者教练，这也导致了你提到的我所说的那句话。这是一支由总冠军班底所打造的球队，而球队也不是最近才获得进军季后赛的资格，这也就决定了，如果他们觉得有需要，那么他们就会作出相应的调整。我们都知道，不管过去的十天或者过去的三周发生了什么，每个人被评估的范围是整个赛季的表现。 MT: The team is 38-12 when both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol play…
Kupchak: Absolutely. And the good news is that we feel Andrew will be able to make a contribution. I’m much more comfortable than I was the last two years. He made it back last year, but he came back from a serious knee injury. I had concerns. And two years ago he didn’t make it back from an injury to his other knee. He hasn’t played in the last 25 days or so, but I feel much more comfortable today than I did last year. I don’t think the Achilles injury is going to have the same impact that the last two had. In fact, I see him out there shooting right now (on Wednesday morning), that’s the first time I’ve seen that in a while.
MT：当拜纳姆和加索尔同时在场时，湖人的战绩是38胜12负……
米奇：这很显然。好消息是，我们能感觉到拜纳姆在场上所发挥的功效。与两年前相比较，我感觉自己轻松了很多。去年他回归了，但是他是从很严重的膝伤上回归的。这一点我很担心。甚至，两年前他都未能从膝伤上恢复。他只打了25天左右，但是今天我都感觉比去年更轻松。我觉得，这个致命伤对他的影响不会像两年前那么严重。事实上，我看到他已经开始恢复投篮训练了（周三早上），那时，我感觉是第一次见到那个场景。 MT: Another potential good sign is that Luke Walton played 24 minutes against Sacramento on Tuesday, the most he’s played this season…
Kupchak: Yes, and that makes a difference. He was our starting small forward for several years, and when we got Trevor (Ariza), he eventually blossomed and Luke became a significant player of the bench. Luke hasn’t hardly played at all for us this year. I don’t know how much he’ll play in any one series, but that’s another player where we miss his presence. He’s helped that second unit succeed with his presence, knowing how to play the game and serving as a catalyst. That’s another thing along with Bynum’s return that has put me in a position where, hey listen, they’ve earned the right. Let’s be healthy … we have a great coach … and let the chips fall where they may.
MT：另一个好现象是，周二对阵萨克拉门托时，沃顿上场了24分钟，这是他本赛季上场时间最多的一场。
米奇：对，而且这给球队带来了变化。前几年，他都一直是我们的先发小前锋，而当我们得到阿里扎，最终他也成长起来，沃顿逐渐成为替补席上很重要的一枚棋子。这个赛季，沃顿几乎没怎么上场打比赛。尽管我不知道在任何一个系列赛里，他的表现会怎么样，但是不可否认的是，他的缺席对我们影响甚大。他在第二阵容里发挥着极其重要的作用，他知道怎么去盘活比赛，他扮演着催化剂的角色。他与拜纳姆的回归都让我心怀安慰。Hey，伙计，听着，他们的回归恰如其分。让我们保持健康，我们有一个伟大的教练，让关键球员在最可能的时候降临吧。 MT: What’s your thought process on Kobe Bryant particularly with his broken finger?
Kupchak: Everybody’s got aches and pains in the shoulder, or an ankle, or a hip at this point of the year. I’m not concerned about that with Kobe, but his finger is a concern. I don’t know how he does it. I just don’t know. He has it taped up, the index finger on his right hand, and he’s somehow figured out how to do it. But I don’t think anyone would say that over his last 10 games he’s shot the ball as well as he can shoot the ball. He has had some rest here and won’t play again until the first playoff game, so maybe another six or seven days will help. I saw him out here the other day shooting without a brace and am not sure if that’s something he’s contemplating or not.
MT：关于科比受伤的手指，你又是怎么想的呢？
米奇：今年，每个人都或多或少都承受着肩伤、脚踝伤或者是臀部的伤病。我没有去特意关注科比怎么样，但他的手指确实是一个隐患。我不知道他是怎么处理的。我真的不知道。他把右手的食指包扎起来，可能他不知怎么地就想到了处理的方法。但是，我觉得，没有人会说，在过去的10场比赛里，他的投篮是如他健康的时候一样出色的。他现在在调整，而且会一直休息到季后赛开始，所以6到7天的休息时间可能会对他有所帮助。可能现在我看见他缺席，但是隔天，我又会看到他摆脱了手指的束缚在投篮。我都不能确定，手指的伤是不是他所考虑的事情。 MT: We still hear the “soft” label thrown at Pau Gasol on occasion. But he has season averages of 18.3 points, 11.3 boards (fifth in the NBA) and nearly two blocks while guarding a good amount of opposing centers, is shooting 65 percent in his last five games for an average of 27 points and he stood up very well to opposing bigs throughout the championship run last season, including Dwight Howard. Is it silly to still call him “soft?”
Kupchak: I think it’s silly. I do. If he put on 50 pounds, what kind of player do you think he’d be? He wouldn’t be Pau Gasol. He wouldn’t have the mobility, the quick feet. Carrying around that kind of weight could lead to injuries … you’d just have a totally different player. Sometimes people measure toughness by your body build, and I think that’s the case with Pau. He just doesn’t look like a tough player. But in terms of not backing down, and being resilient, and playing hard, absorbing contact I put him up there with anybody. I don’t want Pau to come back next year 40 or 50 pounds heavier. That’s not what we want, and he’s a big guy anyway.
MT：我们时常会听到外界把“软”这个标签贴在加索尔身上。但是，这个赛季他场均18.3分，11.3个篮板（位居联盟第五），在防守对手的中锋时还有近2个盖帽入账。在过去的5场比赛里，投篮命中率高达65%，场均得分27分。在去年整个冠军争夺战里，他对对手的大个的防守很出色，其中包括霍华德。那说他软的人岂不是傻子？
米奇：我觉得确实很傻。如果他再增加50磅，那你觉得他会成为什么样的球员？那他就不是加索尔了。他的双腿就不会那么快，也就失去他的灵活性。那样的体重范围也会导致更多的伤病。你得到的也将是完全不同的一名球员。有时候，人们会通过你的身体构造去衡量强硬度，这也很符合加索尔的情况。他只是看上去不像一个强硬的球员。但是，他不认输，适应力强，作风硬朗，我可以说他对位任何球员身体接触上都不会吃亏。我不希望下个赛季回来的时候加索尔增重了40到50磅。那不是我们想要的，不管从哪方面讲，他现在已经很伟大。 MT: Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich called him the most skilled big man in the NBA. You agree?
Kupchak: As we speak I look at the (big board*) behind you, and I’d have to go through every team. But if there were a handful of players, he’s certainly in that handful, and he may be No. 1. If you just were dropped at a Lakers’ game and you didn’t know who Gasol was, you wouldn’t be able to tell if he’s left or right handed. I think half his shots now come with his left hand, you can hardly tell. It’s a unique weapon to go into your spin while the defender doesn’t know what hand you’ll shoot with. He can pass, handle the ball, shoot with range. I’m sure if he were on a team that required him to score from all places, he could get to the point where he could make the (three-point) shot too.
Editor’s note: *Kupchak, like most if not all GM’s, has a big board with every player in the NBA on it by team and position.
MT：马刺主教练波波维奇称赞他是全联盟最赋技巧的大个子。你同意吗？
米奇：在我们谈论的时候，我看了下在你身后的记录板，我必须得快速浏览每一支队伍。但是如果仅仅是统计少数几个球员的话，他当然也位列其中，或者他可能忝居第一。假如你只关注湖人一场比赛的话，你可能根本不知道谁是加索尔，可能你都说不出来他到底是左手还是右手球员。我知道他半数的投篮都来自左手，但是你却不能分辨。当防守的球员不知道你会用哪只手投篮，那你就会成为独特的武器把他带入你的漩涡。他会传球，合理分配球，也会任何射程内的投篮。我很肯定，假如有一支球员需要他在球场上能在任何位置上得分，那他肯定也会投三分。
编辑语：米奇跟大多数的球队经理一样，有一块大的记录板，上面包括了全联盟每个位置上的每个球员的技术统计。 MT: Moving over to the draft, the Lakers do not have a first round pick this season as it went to the Grizzlies in the Gasol trade, though you did pick up an extra second round pick from Memphis.
Kupchak: Yes, we have our and Memphis’s second-round pick, which right now I think are picks 43 and 58, and 43 is a good pick. You never know when you can get a pick, when a trade might pop up, so we prepare for the draft as if we could pick anywhere. In order to know who’s going to be there in the 40’s you need to know who’s going in the 30’s. So we go from 1-to-60, and we won’t get there until probably a day or so before the draft. But we’ll have it in order as to what we think we would do. In other words, if we had 60 picks, this is the order we’d select them. Clearly, the higher the pick, the higher your success rate is going to be, so you’d love to have a top 10 pick every year because you know you’re probably going to get a pretty good players. Not every time, but you probably will. The success rate actually drops dramatically after the top 10.
MT：转看今年的选秀，由于加索尔的交易，尽管你从孟菲斯得到了一个额外的二轮选秀权，但是首轮选秀权却也给了灰熊队。
米奇：是的，我们拥有了我们自己的和灰熊队的两个第二轮选秀权，分别是43位和58位，43位是一个好签。你永远也不会知道什么时候你会获得一个选秀权，什么时候一场交易会突然冒出来，所以我们做好了所有序位的选秀权的准备。为了能够知道40+的位置上的人选，我们必须知道30+位置上的球员。所以我们从1-60都做了准备，而且我们一般都是到选秀前一天左右才开始准备。但是我们会将他们按我们所想要的来排序。换句话说，假如我们有60个选秀权，那这个就是我们选择他们的次序。很显然，选秀权越高，成功率也就越高，所以每年你也就会希望拿到10位以内的选秀权，因为你知道这样你会挑到一个很好的球员。不是每次都会，但是可能性很高。如果到10位开外的话，成功率自然就降低了。 MT: You’re in a different situation from last year since only seven guys are currently under contract for next season (Bryant, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Artest, Vujacic and Walton), while Shannon Brown has an opt-out clause in his contract. You’d expect that this team will look different next season, but how does it affect your thought process:
Kupchak: Absolutely (it will look different). When you have free agents, you’d like to assume that they want to stay and that you could sign them. However, when July 1 rolls around, as we know, it doesn’t always work that way. So when we look at our roster, and the draft, you have to assume that players who are free agents may not be back. You have to plan accordingly. There’s no other way to do it.
MT：今年与去年相比，你的处境已经变了，因为下个赛季，只有7位球员有合同在身（科比、加索尔、拜纳姆、阿泰、武贾西奇和沃顿），布朗是。你会希望下个赛季球队会有所变化，但是你是怎么想的呢？
米奇：看起来绝对会不一样。当你有自由球员的时候，你要考虑他们是否想留下，也要衡量他们是不是值得你去续约。然而，众所周之，当7月1日到来时，事情就不会像之前那样发展了。所以当我们观察我们的球员包括选秀时，你必须要抱着自由球员不会续约的信念。你要作出相对应的计划。别无他法。 MT: Obviously, Kobe and Vujacic are the only guards guaranteed under contract for next season. The assumption would be that you’d look at more free agent and potential rookie guards.
Kupchak: Yes, in our backcourt, you have Derek (Fisher) as a free agent, Jordan (Farmar) as a free agent and Shannon Brown could become a free agent. Fortunately, Kobe is back in the fold, Sasha is back, but yes, you have to assume that those three other guys may not be here and you’d better have a backup plan.
