Lakers GM: Developing young players takes backseat to Kobe farewell

The Los Angeles Lakers know where their current priorities lie, and according to general manager Mitch Kupchak, developing the team's young prospects isn't at the top of the list.

"Under normal circumstances (in a season like this), at some point, you would probably concentrate on just developing all your young players," Kupchak told ESPN's Baxter Holmes, referring to the Lakers' 8-28 record and clear rebuilding impetus. "But we can't do that right now."

The reason they can't do that right now, Kupchak explains, is that he and the franchise feel they owe Laker lifer Kobe Bryant a proper farewell in his 20th and final NBA season.

So while head coach Byron Scott can explain away some of his curious playing-time decisions by, say, decrying the immaturity and selfishness of rookies Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell, at the end of the day, the Lakers franchise doesn't seem intent on beginning their rebuild in earnest until next season.

"This (season) is really a justified farewell to perhaps the best player in franchise history," Kupchak said. "And, God willing, he's going to want to play every game and he's going to want to play a lot of minutes in every game, because that's just the way he is.

"And as long as that continues, which it should, then that's 30-35 minutes that you might give to a young player that you can't. How do you get a feel for your team going forward when you know that your best player is not going to be there next year? So it's really hard to go forward until he's no longer here."

The 37-year-old Bryant has been an objectively unproductive player this season, shooting 34.1 percent from the field and 25.9 percent from 3-point range, while posting a 12.9 PER. The Lakers have been 6.7 points per 100 possessions worse when he's on the floor. For all that, he's still second on the team in minutes per game (30.4), and tops by a considerable margin in both field-goal attempts (17.2), and usage rate (30.8 percent).

To Kupchak, though, all the extra emphasis on Bryant - from the media circus surrounding his retirement tour to the way he continues to dominate the team's offensive possessions - can actually be a boon to the Lakers' young, unpolished players.

"Every game, it's about Kobe," he said. "Even when he doesn't play, it's about Kobe. So in a lot of regards, there's a silver lining that our guys can develop under the radar and maybe make a mistake or make two mistakes and it not be a big deal."

Perhaps it can also be a boon to the team's long-term outlook. The Lakers will lose their 2016 draft pick if it falls outside the top three. If the season ended today, lottery odds would put them in line to nab the second pick.