KUPCHAK CALLS DALLAS `ATTRACTIVE SITUATION'.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Over dinner and then breakfast, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak 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. continued to spark hearty interest from the Dallas Mavericks' new ownership. Kupchak returned to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on Friday after a two-course interview regarding the Mavericks' front-office vacancy. He was the second candidate brought in for a meeting, following John Nash. ``The location, the ownership, the team, all those things are taken into consideration,'' Kupchak said Friday night. ``Certainly, at first glance, Dallas is an attractive situation.'' The Mavericks were apparently just as impressed with Kupchak, who flew into Dallas on Thursday night to dine with co-owner Ross Perot H. Ross Perot (born June 27, 1930) is an American businessman from Texas, who is best known for seeking the office of President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962 and later sold the company to General Motors and founded Perot Jr. and had breakfast Friday with co-owner David McDavid. Said Frank Zaccanelli, the third member of Dallas' ownership triumvirate Triumvirate (trīŭm`vĭrĭt, –vĭrāt'), in ancient Rome, ruling board or commission of three men. Triumvirates were common in the Roman republic. : ``He's capable of fitting the bill here. He learned the business from one of the best around, and it's clear he has a bright future in this league.'' Kupchak, long considered the successor to Lakers vice president Jerry West
If Kupchak goes, he won't have the opportunity to pick a coach. Chicago assistant Jim Cleamons James Mitchell (Jim) Cleamons (born September 13 1949 in Lincolnton, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant coach. He has been an assistant under head coach Phil Jackson with both the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. was introduced Friday as Dick Motta's replacement. ``Under ideal circumstances, you want to hire your own coach,'' Kupchak said. ``That said, there are a select few coaches that are available, and from time to time you have to do things in a timely fashion. Timing is important or you might miss out. ``I like Jim Cleamons, and I think he'll be a fine coach.'' As for speculation that he is the clear favorite for the job, Kupchak said: ``I don't think you make a decision in a day or a day and a half. You have to get past the first glance.'' The Mavericks have said that they want to hire a GM with business as well as basketball-operations experience. Kupchak, West's assistant for the past decade, earned an MBA MBA abbr. Master of Business Administration Noun 1. MBA - a master's degree in business Master in Business, Master in Business Administration in 1987 at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . ``If he hasn't been handling the business side already,'' McDavid said, ``he's got the tools and understanding to do so here.'' At a news conference for Cleamons on Friday afternoon, Perot said that the Mavericks ``still have a ways to go before we're ready to hire a general manager.'' In addition to considering Kupchak and Nash, they've also decided to interview Phoenix player-personnel director Dick Van Arsdale Richard Albert (Dick) Van Arsdale (born February 22 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a former professional basketball player and coach, and a current NBA executive. A 6'5" guard who played collegiately at Indiana University, Van Arsdale was selected by the New York Knickerbockers and former Houston GM Steve Patterson Steve Patterson may refer to either of the following people:
SOURCE: Marc Stein Marc Stein is a sports reporter. He began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 to serve as the site's senior National Basketball Association writer. Shaq news: Orlando Magic free-agent center Shaquille O'Neal may already be getting a taste of what life might be like as a member of the Lakers. According to the Orlando Sentinel, O'Neal has spent the past two days in Los Angeles, where he is visiting his agent, Leonard Armato, for the weekend. Reportedly, O'Neal was seen having lunch with Lakers guard Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during on Thursday afternoon on the Sunset Strip. The Lakers are one of the teams expecting to make a push to lure O'Neal from the Magic this summer. Teams cannot contact him with regards to his free-agent status until July 1. The Magic had not seen or heard from O'Neal for several days. He missed a team meeting on Wednesday and did not offer anyone from the Magic organization an explanation for his absence. Armato said O'Neal had some personal family business matters to attend on Wednesday that conflicted with the team meeting. ``He had personal family business to attend to with his mother,'' Armato said. ``He had made a promise to do something for her. So that's where he was on Wednesday. He also didn't think that the meeting was mandatory.'' Wary Sonics: Only five NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= teams have blown 3-1 leads in a best-of-seven series. The Seattle SuperSonics left Salt Lake City looking like a strong candidate to become No. 6. The momentum in the Western Conference finals has swung squarely in the direction of the Utah Jazz, which forced a seventh game for Sunday by routing the Sonics 118-83 Thursday night. The 35-point margin of victory represented a 65-point turnaround from Game 1, a 30-point Seattle victory when the series began 13 days ago. ``This is a difficult team to play against, and still is, but they had five or six days to prepare for us and we didn't have the same luxury,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said Friday. ``After a couple of games, hopefully you can figure a few things out and get better.'' The Jazz certainly did so. It found ways to overcome Seattle's trapping defense, took away the Sonics' running game and injected a dose of doubt into the heads of a team that was upset in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Reportedly spent the past two days in Los Angeles visiting his agent, Leonard Armato. |
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