Mitch Kupchak
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| Position | Power forward/Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | May 24 1954 Image:Flag of New York.svg Hicksville, New York |
| College | North Carolina |
| Draft | 13th overall, 1973 Washington Bullets |
| Pro career | 1976–1986 |
| Former teams | Washington Bullets (1976–1981) Los Angeles Lakers (1981–1986) |
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | |||
| Men's Basketball | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | Montreal 1976 | Team Competition | |
Mitchell "Mitch" Kupchak (born May 24 1954 in Hicksville, New York) is a retired American basketball player and current general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers since the 2000-01 NBA season after predecessor Jerry West moved to the Memphis Grizzlies organization.
Kupchak played on the gold medal winning team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1976, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.
Kupchak played four seasons with the Lakers, from 1981-1982 to 1985-1986 (he did not play in 1982-83, due to a knee injury). As Lakers general manager, his best transaction is generally considered the acquisition of former superstars Karl Malone and Gary Payton, and his most controversial trade transaction was the trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. This trade is what caused Lakers fans to become very angry with Kupchak. In the summer of 2005 he traded away Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins for the former number one overall pick, Kwame Brown. O'Neal would go on to win the NBA Championship in 2006, while Butler would become an All-Star that same year after being traded. Following that, in 2006, he signed forward Vladimir Radmanovic and guard Shammond Williams from the free agency market. Radmanovic would later be caught for deceiving the Lakers fined him $500,000. He didnt play again that year because his shoulder injury kept him out. Williams turned out to be a non-factor for the Lakers during the playoffs. Other notable signings included Isaiah Rider and Dennis Rodman.
[edit] References
Image:Med 1.png 1976 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball team - United States Image:Med 1.png |
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Phil Ford | Steve Sheppard | Adrian Dantley | Walter Davis | Quinn Buckner | Ernie Grunfeld | Kenneth Carr | Scott May | Tate Armstrong | Tom LaGarde | Philip Hubbard | Mitch Kupchak | Coach: Dean Smith |
Washington Bullets 1977-78 NBA Champions |
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Los Angeles Lakers 1981-82 NBA Champions |
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5 Jordan | 8 Brewer | 10 Nixon | 11 McAdoo | 21 Cooper | 31 Rambis | 32 E. Johnson (Finals MVP) | 33 Abdul-Jabbar | 34 C. Johnson | 40 McGee | 52 Wilkes | 54 Landsberger | Coach Riley |
Los Angeles Lakers 1984-85 NBA Champions |
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Categories: Articles lacking sources from October 2007 | All articles lacking sources | 1954 births | American basketball players | Living people | People from Long Island | Los Angeles Lakers players | Los Angeles Lakers | National Basketball Association executives | North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players | Washington Bullets players | Olympic basketball players of the United States | Olympic gold medalists for the United States | Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics | Polish-Americans | University of California, Los Angeles alumni | Brentwood High School (Brentwood, New York) people | United States basketball biography, 1950s birth stubs
