News Update: Mitch Kupchak contemplates trades as Lakers’ struggle
Mitch Kupchak, general manager for the Los Angeles Lakers, has voiced his concerns about the under achieving Lakers and the need for trades.
During a Lakers team practice, Kupchak said, "Regarding a trade, I may have to. I'm not saying that I've made calls today or I'll make them tomorrow. But I just don't think that we're playing as well as our talent level should allow us."
These statements came on the heels of two back to back losses for LA. An unpredictable defeat against the slumping Sacramento Kings was followed by a convincing 109-96 loss at home against the Boston Celtics. The Lakers gave lack luster performances in both
games and seem to frustrate and disappoint Kupchak.
The Lakers are currently in second place in the Western Conference with 33 wins and 15 defeats. This puts them seven games behind the San Antonio Spurs and just one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers struggled to show consistency against competitive
teams in their league. They have ended up losing almost half of their home games. This is unexpected from a team that has a roster full of top talent.
"I try to be as objective as possible, but I'm concerned that our performance is not living up to our talent level," Kupchak said. "Our record is certainly OK. But we've lost a bunch of home games. We've lost a couple of big games at home. And to me, those
are red flags”.
The Lakers general manager believes that it’s not the lack of talent that is holding the tem back. The Lakers have the same starting five as they had last year. This group of players took LA to the finals and delivered. Currently, they seem to have completely
lost focus and in the last five games, the Lakers have lost three. Kobe Bryant is considered to be the only consistent performer so far.
The Lakers have two tough match-ups coming their way next. They face the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. The line-up will be put to the test once again Thursday as they face the San Antonio Spurs, the top team in their conference. The Spurs are the only team
in the entire league that has managed to win 40 games so far in the season. The Lakers need to win in order to keep their second place spot in the conference. A win will also be crucial for players who might be targets for a trade.
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