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But the mention of "tanking" to Kupchak results in a lightning-quick reply."We would never do that," he said. "This business doesn't work that way."
As proof, Kupchak noted how late last season, when every loss meant a better chance at a higher lottery pick, the Lakers won their final two games, both on the road. Had they lost those games, they would've tied for the fourth-worst record in the league; instead, they had the sixth-worst.
"Our feeling is, you can't manipulate [the system]," Kupchak said. "It's bad Karma. First of all, just the whole concept of talking to your coaches and sending a message that, 'We want to lose,' it's just so counter to professional sports and to the way that this organization thinks."
He added, "I don't even know where you begin. Do you call a coach in and say, 'Listen, I want to talk to you about something. We've got to lose these games.' And then if that coach leaves your organization in three years, and he says, 'Yeah, the Lakers wanted to lose ...'
"I mean, it doesn't work," Kupchak said. "And if you did do that, the Karma would be such that you'd probably end up with the 14th pick. But the message to send out is not the right message.
