I praised the Lakers GM for keeping Kobe Bryant in purple and gold, for landing Pau Gasol in the most crooked acquisition since the Louisiana Purchase, and for intricately constructing the 2008-09 and 2009-10 title teams.
I spoke so highly of Kupchak, you would have thought he was on the verge of signing me to a lucrative deal with the Lakers.
But just as impressions of the U.S. president change all the time, so too do opinions in sports. One minute we are gushing over a guy, the next minute we want to grill him.
Kupchak is not quite ready to be roasted, but if he proceeds to persistently spit in free agent Derek Fisher's face by not upping the Lakers' reported offer of $2.5 million for one year, Kupchak will soon become nothing more than the NBA GM equivalent of an amateur author.
Sure Fisher might be functioning on his last starting point guard legs, and sure, he posted what appear to be backup numbers last season (7.5 points, 2.5 assists and 38 percent field goal shooting). After all, Fisher's overall performance last season was more like a precipice.
Precipice schme-shi-cise.
The soon-to-be 36-year old holds the second-longest active streak for consecutive games played (413), including five straight seasons in which the bulldog has battled for all 82 regular season affairs. Not only was Fisher just one of two Lakers to play in every game this past season—and the sole starter to do so—but he also led the team in free throw percentage.
Fisher's greatest contribution, however, came in Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals, when the 14-year vet single-handedly stole Game 3 from the Boston Celtics, scoring 11 points in the final frame to secure a 2-1 series lead and regain the homecourt advantage (which would...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
