Mitch Kupchak

On farewell day, they waved until their hands hurt. Kobe Bryant pleaded for Lakers management to pay millions to Dwight Howard, millions to Pau Gasol, millions for the luxury tax, anything to keep the Lakers together for the final year of his contract....

It is the chant that has defined the season, yet somehow has not defined the man. The most amazing thing about the derisive jeer that has rained upon Mike D'Antoni's slumped shoulders for the last six months is that not once has he jeered back. "We want...

The last time they tried this, it didn't go so well. The last time the Lakers attempted to win a playoff series without Kobe Bryant, they had home-court advantage, a future Hall of Famer, and absolutely no chance. The year was 1996, and after lurching...

The Clippers have now sold out 92 straight home games with Saturday night's playoff victory in Staples Center. I have always thought it fascinating that there are 19,060 Clippers fans in all of Southern California and every one of them goes to every home...

Earlier this season, when Kobe Bryant was in the middle of a mindless streak during which he played at least 40 minutes in 10 consecutive games, his coach could only laugh about it. "I told him they'll put a statue of him at Staples [Center] but it...

The hand that once wrote about daily NBA schedules on a greaseboard in the Lakers' locker room now composes daily specials on a surfboard propped against a sunset-colored truck. Kona Sunset Shrimp Tacos, two for $7. The distinctive voice that once...

I'm thinking the best place for Dwight Howard's statue outside Staples is right beside Oscar De La Hoya's 7-foot likeness. That way they can keep the guys together who have been beaten up the most in the building. De La Hoya was 0-1 in Staples and so...

He was speaking only for his weary and rumpled self, speaking in the singular, sorrowful tones of someone who just lost a boss and friend of more than three decades. But, in one poignant moment while publicly mourning the death of Lakers owner Jerry...

Let's take this a step further. The two basketball experts in town, Magic and Plaschke, have declared Jeanie Buss should be in charge of the Lakers. This has to be a blow to Jimmy Buss, who probably understands he also won't be Phil Jackson's choice...

What had been softly whispered for months, almost as if saying it aloud might make a terrible thing come true, became sad and public knowledge Thursday. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, not seen this season around his beloved team and for nearly a year removed...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Kobe Bryant doubled over in laughter when I asked whether he thought the day would come when Bynum played so well. Will Bynum. A runt who plays for the Pistons. Shredded the Lakers' interior defense. And by the way,...

That didn't take long. On Oct. 30, one of the presumably most powerful teams in NBA history opened its season by marching on to a Staples Center floor ringed in blinding belief. On Sunday, one of the potentially most disappointing teams in NBA history...