Mitch Kupchak on taking Russell, Nance Jr. Tweet, Kobe’s future
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak joined the show to explain why the Lakers took D’Angelo Russell and more. Here are some of his takes …
— On choosing Russell: “It really came down to [Jahlil] Okafor and Russell,” Kupchak said. “The second workout we were pretty confident he was going to be our guy.”
— Dan asked if there were a lot of calls for trades. “Yes,” Kupchak said, “there was a lot of activity.”
— Kupchak commented on how the game has changed. “The League has been changing,” Kupchak said. “It’s been going on for quite some time.”
He said that does affect how they view players. “There was a time when everyone was trying to dunk the ball,” Kupchak said. But with that three point line, you have kids coming in who just have a gift. … Watching Golden State play was a lot of fun in the playoffs.”
— Kupchak commented on his pick Larry Nance Jr.’s Tweet about Kobe Bryant and said they didn’t know about it before taking him. “We were not aware of what you’re talking about until last night,” Kupchak said. He said they need to pay more attention to social media history.
— Kupchak said if Kobe did want to play past next year, that’d be great. But he said Kobe won’t play if his body isn’t right.