The Los Angeles Lakers attacked the 2012 offseason with a determination to add as much win-now talent as was humanly possible.
While many assumed the team was looking to build a championship contender for the final few seasons of Kobe Bryant's career, general manager Mitch Kupchak said that there was a more immediate influence driving their decisions—the failing health of legendary owner, Dr. Jerry Buss.
Appearing on John Feinstein's CBS Radio show on Tuesday, Kupchak said that the moves were made to maximize their ability to win another title in a "two- or maybe even a three-year window," (via Royce Young of CBSSports.com).
Adding veterans like Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison over the 2012 offseason were just among the examples of the Lakers' attempts to guarantee success for the 2012-13 season.
When the season got off to a rocky 1-4 start, the team fired coach Mike Brown. According to Kupchak, the acquisitions and firing were all driven by this urgency.
Clearly, we knew Dr. Buss was not in great health, Kupchak said. And we were hoping for the next year or two we could put something on the court that would result in being ...
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Article written by Zach Buckley
Mitch Kupchak Says L.A. Lakers Wanted to Win Now for Ailing Jerry Buss
February 26th, 2013 by Zach Buckley Leave a reply »
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