Kupchak deserves credit for building team

After a game in which officiating was finally a non-issue, there was one bit of ammunition for those who believe the Lakers have been handed a free ticket to the NBA Finals. In the middle of the celebration was former Lakers executive Jerry West, most recently of the Memphis Grizzlies. The cynical NBA fan -- and doesn't that apply to most of them -- believe West worked behind the scenes to orchestrate the trade between his two former teams that brought Pau Gasol to the Lakers in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol and draft picks.
Trade might not be the right word.
"A donation, or something like that," Kobe Bryant suggested.
Actually, West was on hand as part of the new NBA tradition of having a legendary former player award the conference championship trophy (Last year, for example, Bill Russell gave the trophy to the Cleveland Cavaliers). But he wanted to make sure the attention went to his replacement in L.A., the often beleaguered Mitch Kupchak. Kupchak might have lost out to Danny Ainge for the Executive of the Year Award ... but how about the NBA bring back the Comeback Player of the Year and give it to him?
A year ago, Bryant referred to the front office as "a mess" and seethed about the direction Kupchak had taken the team. Fans called local talk radio and referred to the GM as Mitch Cupcake.
And now, with a roster built mostly of the same players Kupchak had drafted and signed, the Lakers took out the defending champions. Did it in a way that came from the Spurs model, actually: surrounding one superstar with a bunch of late-first and second-round draft picks. The likes of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf.
West was choking up with emotion as he handed over the trophy. Bryant reached up and patted him on the chest as Derek Fisher grabbed Kupchak's shoulders from behind and rocked him back and forth. The crowd cheered. And later, even Bryant had to give his praise: "He's done a great job."