The Los Angeles Lakers have several moves that need to be made. Sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference, general manager Mitch Kupchak is preparing to put that new contract extension to work as he prepares for the task of rebuilding the Lakers in the offseason. With Kobe Bryant currently under contract for the next two seasons as the greatest asset the Lakers have right now, do they utilize their star to help bring in other players?
Naturally, Bryant has a lot of star power in the league and a lot of influence amongst the players. Assumed to be fully healthy next season, certain free agents could flock to Los Angeles for a shot at playing with Bryant over the next few years. However, Kupchak says Los Angeles will not be consulting with Bryant on any moves or asking him to recruit certain players to sign on.
"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," Kupchak said, via USA Today Sports. "We've got a lot of injuries and surgeries to sort through. That's a lot to accomplish. We have the draft coming up? 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."
Fans were hoping that during the All-Star break, Bryant would use his time with stars like Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James wisely and talk up the team. The star denied he would be doing any recruiting saying he has stopped that effort after the failed Dwight Howard meetings.
So what kind of influence will Bryant have when it comes to the future of head coach Mike D'Antoni? According to Kupchak, none. The star has been vocal about his displeasure with some of the coaching schemes this season and according to the general manager, has had a few outbursts on the matter, but that does not mean he will have any say on the coaching future of the team.
"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," Kupchak said.
