Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss tried to save jobs by trading for DeMarcus Cousins
By John Buhler
The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t able to land DeMarcus Cousins in a trade. This may be the reason that the Lakers have relieved Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss.
Outside of the elite Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s Pacific Division is starting to resemble a clown show. The Phoenix Suns are young and awful and the Los Angeles Clippers are a great, but antagonistic team. Then there is the rampant front office ineptitude associated with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento made the headlines on All-Star Sunday, as the Kings traded away star center DeMarcus Cousins for pennies on the dollar to the underwhelming New Orleans Pelicans. While the return for the Kings center around rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield was lacking, it may have been the best offer Kings general manager Vlade Divac could get at the deadline.
According to Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports, the Lakers inability to put together a quality offer for Cousins in a trade with the Kings may have been the deciding factor in Los Angeles’ decision to fire general manager Mitch Kupchak and demote executive vice president of basketball operations Jim Buss on Tuesday afternoon.
Going after DeMarcus Cousins was Jim & Mitch's last-ditch attempt to save their jobs, I'm told. Jim really wanted him, Mitch handled talks
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 21, 2017
Divac wanted three things in a deal for Cousins: a first-round pick in 2017, a promising young player, and an expiring contract. The Lakers could have given the Kings a first round pick, maybe not their own, but were one of five teams that could have made a deal for Cousins.
The problem seems to be that Kupchak and Buss were reluctant to parting ways with 2016 No. 2 overall pick small forward Brandon Ingram. Even in the wake of losing their jobs, Kupchak and Buss weren’t willing to give up the best piece of the Lakers young corps to land Cousins.
Another issue with a potential deal for Cousins would have been Los Angeles’ chances of keeping their first round pick in 2017. It is only top-three protected. One would assume that Cousins would help the Lakers too much in the win column, ultimately costing them their pick.
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Kupchak has been a great general manager for a long time. He’ll land on his feet despite today’s canning. As for Buss, his family owns the Lakers. This is not a good look to be reassigned in the organization that his family operates.