In a season in which most Lakers fans felt would end in another early exit at best, Kobe and his supporting cast was ready for the challenge. Nearly every supporting player rose to the occasion, especially Andrew Bynum, who was playing at an all-star level before suffering his first knee injury.
Kupchak pushed all the right buttons, making a key trade that landed the Lakers Trevor Ariza and the heist in Memphis that sent Pau Gasol to the City of Angels for virtually nothing.
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With talent finally around him for the first time since Shaq was traded, the “Black Mamba” took his game to a whole new level through balancing his lethal scoring ability with a newfound trust in his teammates. Kobe finally won his long overdue MVP award and became arguably the best leader in the league – in addition to his title of best player. The Lakers took control of the Western Conference and haven’t looked back since.
Of course, unlike the Anthony situation, Kobe was not slated to become a free agent for another two years when he wanted out of Los Angeles. However, credit still has to be given to Kupchak for not panicking and doing what the Nuggets are seemingly about to do–which is trade away the face of their franchise for likely pennies-on-the-dollar.
While the Gasol trade will be recognized as Kupchak’s greatest move, perhaps his smartest moves were his decisions not to sway from his plan by electing not to trade either Kobe Bryant or Andrew Bynum for immediate help. After all, I think we can all agree that we would take Kobe over Gordon and Deng and Bynum over Jason Kidd or Jermaine O’Neal.