Mike D’Antoni will return as coach of the Lakers next season. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni has a job to come back to next season.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak said before the team beat the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night that D’Antoni will be back as head coach of the Lakers next season and said he’s done a great job so far, adding that there have been no discussions otherwise, according to a Los Angeles Times report from Mike Bresnahan. The Lakers not only secured a playoff spot late Wednesday night, but the win over the Rockets gave them the seventh seed and a first-round matchup against the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs.

Kupchak lauded D’Antoni for remaining flexible throughout the season and listening to his players, and in a rare instance of certainty in an otherwise uncertain season, Kupchak said definitively that D’Antoni will be the Lakers coach next season:

“Yeah, he’s back. I think he’s done a great job. There’s been no discussions otherwise. He’s made adjustments. He’s been flexible. He’s evaluated how he coaches as the season’s progressed. He’s listened to the players. He’s very easy to work with and we think in particular since the meeting the day of the Memphis game, yeah.”

D’Antoni is 40-32 as coach of the Lakers this season, and has taken the team to a 28-12 record since calling that team meeting in Memphis in January after a 106-93 loss to the Grizzlies. He has two years and $8 million remaining on his contract with the Lakers, who also owe another $6 million to Mike Brown after parting ways with him in November.

Kupchak said D’Antoni, 61, needs more time for a fair shot because of the injuries, lack of a training camp, and unfamiliarity with the team and its personnel after coaching the New York Knicks and only seeing the Lakers twice in a season.

“Much has been made of the injuries, and the coaching change [in November] and no training camp, which is certainly a part of it. [Y]ou’re in New York coaching and you see the Lakers once or twice a year, you don’t know the personnel. And the injury situation when he got here, Steve Nash had the broken leg. There’s just too much going on to really look at it any other way.”

The Lakers presented a montage of Kobe Bryant on the Staples Center video board Sunday. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant’s morale has gone “through the roof” after suffering his season-ending torn Achilles tendon Friday night, general manager Mitch Kupchak told Jim Rome on Monday.

Kupchak described Bryant’s transformation from posting rambling, dejected Facebook rants on Friday night to being excited about working toward his return.

“His spirits were through the roof,” Kupchak told Rome. “He was excited about getting this thing handled right away and he was thinking about training camp and next season.”

Kupchak said no one can know for sure if Bryant’s heavy volume of minutes during the Lakers’ drive to make the playoffs led to his injury. Coach Mike D’Antoni determined how much any Lakers player played, but Bryant also wanted to play as much as possible. Kupchak also related that Bryant has a history of checking himself back into a game without waiting for a coaching move — long before D’Antoni took the helm.

“We’re dealing with a player who’s at the top of his game in his season 17th season in the NBA,” said Kupchak. “He’s earned that respect.

“There are times during the game when Mike (D’Antoni) or Phil (Jackson) or Mike Brown or Rudy Tomjanovich have taken Kobe out of a game,” said Kupchak. “Then Kobe, at some point, says ‘Well, it’s time for me to go back in.’”

When questioned about Bryant’s future with the Lakers, Kupchak said he definitely expects the seven-time All-Star to re-sign with the team.

The Los Angeles Lakers will not trade Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol before Thursday’s deadline, general manager Mitch Kupchak said Wednesday on ESPN Radio.

Kupchak: “Dwight is our future.”

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 20, 2013

Kupchak said that the relationship between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard — who have reportedly been unhappy with each other — is a “work in progress.”

Kupchak repeatedly defended Howard, who has struggled in his first season in L.A. and received criticism for his effort. Howard has also dealt with a shoulder injury.

Kupchak on Dwight: “When he wins his 1st championship, and he will, people will look at him differently.”

— Mark Willard (@Mark_T_Willard) February 20, 2013

Kupchak: “This team’s window is this year and next year and a lot of that has to do with Kobe.”

— Mark Willard (@Mark_T_Willard) February 20, 2013

Howard is a free agent after the season.

Kupchak also said the Lakers would not trade Gasol, whose role has been diminished by Howard’s presence and coach Mike D’Antoni’s system. Gasol is currently out with a right foot injury.

The Lakers, expected to contend for a title this year after the offseason acquisitions of Howard and point guard Steve Nash, are currently 25-29, tied for ninth in the Western Conference standings.

Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn ACL and is expected to miss at least six months of action. (Brian Babineau/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have engaged in “preliminary trade discussions” centering around Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo, CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger is reporting.

The deal “hasn’t gained any traction,” however, and Howard said during an All-Star media session that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had told him that he would not be traded.

Making the trade even more of a long shot is the fact that Rondo is out for the season with a torn ACL and that the Celtics would not trade him without assurances that Howard, whose contract expires after this season, would sign with Boston long-term, Berger reports.

But discussions could continue even after the season ends, given that Howard has not shown any interest in signing a contract before then.

Since the league source familiar with the discussions characterized them as preliminary, it’s possible that the talks could be tabled until after the season. In that case, Howard would have to agree to a sign-and-trade to the Celtics that would only yield him a four-year deal as opposed to the five years the Lakers could offer him (or the Celtics, if he were traded there by Feb. 21 and subsequently re-signed). The Celtics could only acquire Howard in a sign-and-trade if they eschewed their full mid-level and remained below the so-called luxury-tax apron, a threshold $4 million above the tax line that was added in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge has considered trading Rondo in the past, as the organization has had difficulty managing his personality, according to Berger. The team has won eight of nine games during his absence thus far.

The Lakers, meanwhile, could pursue the trade if they accept this season as a lost cause and begin preparing for the future. At 25-29, L.A. is 3.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, and Howard has not publicly shown interest in staying beyond this season.

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard said on Friday that he will not be traded before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, reports CBSSports.com.

Howard told reporters at the NBA All-Star Game media day in Houston that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak informed him that he will be in a Lakers uniform for the remainder of the season. Howard is set to become a free agent in the offseason.

Howard is averaging 16.3 points per game this season, his lowest total since his second NBA season with the Orlando Magic. His 11.8 rebounds per game are the fewest he has posted since his rookie year. The Lakers enter the All-Star Break with a record of 25-29, 3 1/2 games behind Houston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Lakers center Dwight Howard has missed the past two games after re-injuring his shoulder. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the team filed a complaint to the NBA regarding hard fouls on center Dwight Howard, reports USAToday Sports.

Howard has not played since re-injuring his right shoulder in a Jan. 30 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

“There’s a protocol to airing opinions or complaints with the NBA. And we’ve done that,” Kupchak said to the Los Angeles Times. “The game has evolved and like a lot of other sports where attention is now being given to protect players, the NBA is interested in doing so as well. I don’t know if they will review our concerns, but (hard fouls) have resulted in injury to one of our players.”

Howard returned to Los Angeles after being injured to get more treatment on his ailing shoulder. Howard has played in 43 of the Lakers 48 games and is averaging 16.5 points and 11.9 rebounds a game.

“I don’t want to sit out — period,” Howard said. “I know how important I can be to our team’s success, but at the same time I don’t want what happened last year to happen again.

“I played with a sore back as long as I could. I did everything, cracked it, popped it, had acupuncture,whatever to keep playing and I ended up hurting it really bad.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said he wants a better effort from his players. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Mitch Kupchak probably wishes amid the Lakers woes that he could echo the sentiments of the “good job, good effort” kid, who went viral last year immediately following the Boston Celtics win over the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Instead, the Los Angeles look at the very real possibility that they could miss the playoffs and Kupchak is pointing fingers not at Mike D’Antoni, the third coach the team has seen in the past six months, but at the Lakers players, specifically calling out their effort.

Kupchak said in a phone interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he’s a “little concerned” about their effort, and perhaps as a jab to invoke more of it, he said LeBron James exemplifies the kind of energy he’d like to see out of his own players:

“I’m a little bit concerned about our effort. I’d like to see better effort on the court. When the ball is not bouncing your way, when shots aren’t going in, you just can’t seem to get a break, the one thing you can control on the court is your effort and loose balls and running the floor, defending, offensive rebounding. I think back to the Miami game and I have that vision of LeBron (James) diving on that ball at midcourt. That’s effort. It’s natural when things get tough to hesitate and be unsure, lose confidence. That’s one thing that we can’t let happen. We have to maintain our confidence and our effort more than anything has to be at an all-time (high) to get through this period.”

Kupchak said that D’Antoni has adjusted his coaching system to better suit the team and that it’s time for the players to respond. He alluded to the idea that the roster now may not be the same for the rest of the season if things don’t turn around:

“Sometimes a player is just not going to fit. Sometimes a coach has to make changes and compromise in the way he’s done things and I think that’s what Mike is going through right now is just the process.”

The coach is often the first one to go when a team is struggling, and the Lakers have no doubt struggled this season. But D’Antoni is the third coach to manage the Lakers this season so it’s no wonder that the general manager is pointing blame elsewhere.

Dwight Howard trade talks are beginning to resurface and Pau Gasol, who was recently benched for the rest of the season in favor of Earl Clark, continues to be mentioned as a player who could be on the move. The team is currently third in the Pacific Division with a 17-24 record and is in the midst of a three game losing streak.

Mike D’Antoni signed a three-year contract to become the Lakers’ head coach on Monday. (Glenn James/Getty Images)

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the organization hired Mike D’Antoni rather than Phil Jackson as head coach  “almost completely” for basketball reasons, countering speculation that Jackson’s lofty contract demands led the Lakers to choose D’Antoni as a secondary option.

“It revolved almost completely around the personnel that we had on the team and the style of play that we saw going forward for the team,” Kupchak said, according to ESPN.com. The story also states that ”Jackson was the first candidate the Lakers met with following the dismissal of Mike Brown on Friday,” but the team never offered Jackson the job.

The Lakers hired D’Antoni on Monday in a move that surprised many after reports surfaced that the team was attempting to woo Jackson out of retirement.

Los Angeles point guard Steve Nash, currently out with a leg fracture, thrived in D’Antoni’s fast-paced, pick-and-roll-heavy offense while the two were with the Phoenix Suns from 2004-08. Kupchak expressed skepticism that the team’s “newer players”  would similarly thrive in Jackson’s renowned Triangle offense that won him 11 championship rings, including five with the Lakers.

Although reports said that D’Antoni could hire former Blazers head coach Nate McMillan as an assistant, D’Antoni told the Los Angeles Times that he would only add his brother Dan, while the rest of the staff will remain intact.

Los Angeles Lakers legend and ESPN analyst Magic Johnson took to Twitter Sunday night to “address some rumors” about his perceived role in the team’s firing of head coach Mike Brown on Friday.

Johnson stressed that he was not at all involved in Brown’s firing, saying that he had not talked with Lakers owner Jerry Buss or general manager Mitch Kupchak ahead of the move. He said if he were involved, he would “own it.”

I’d like to address some rumors related to my role in the firing of Mike Brown.I had NO conversations w/ Dr. Buss, Jim Buss or Mitch.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 12, 2012

I’m not involved w/ the @lakers day-to-day, only the @dodgers.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 12, 2012

The last time I spoke to Dr. Buss, was 3 months ago & we were merely reminiscing about the Showtime @lakers days.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 12, 2012

If I was involved w/ the firing of Mike Brown, I would own it like I did w/ Paul Westhead.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 12, 2012

Johnson said he was tweeting from the Lakers’ contest Sunday night at the Staples Center against the Sacramento Kings.

Earlier on Sunday, Johnson told USA Today’s Sam Amick that he never thought Brown was the “right fit” for the job. But he was adamant that he did not have a role.

“Have I been telling him from Day One that this guy wasn’t the right guy? Yes, I’ve said that,” Johnson said. “I said that on the air last year. I’ve always backed up what I say. But have I went to Dr. Buss ever and said ‘fire this guy’? Never. Have I talked to Dr. Buss about Mike Brown ever? No. So, that’s been a lie that they put out. But that’s OK. I’m a big boy. I can handle it. Dr. Buss makes his own decisions. You’re underestimating Dr. Buss. When you say that, it’s a slap in the face of Dr. Buss.”

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports that Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak spoke with David Lee, the agent for Andrew Bynum, on Wednesday to discuss a contract extension for the center.

Kupchak declined to detail the Wednesday conversation between him and Bynum’s representative beyond a general description of “productive and positive.” Kupchak said no changes in Bynum’s status would be coming soon.

Bynum can make more money by playing out his current deal and re-signing with the Lakers as a free agent than he can by signing an extension, but Kupchak pointed to Bynum’s prior injury woes as reason why the 24-year-old might be willing to choose security versus a bigger payday.

Lakers G.M. Mitch Kupchak says to expect changes to his team’s roster. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

In his annual end-of-the-season press conference, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told the media that he will be shaking up the roster for next season following the team’s consecutive second-round playoff ousters.

“There’ll be some change,” Kupchak said, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. “We’ve got a group of players that are free agents. … There will be quite a bit of activity July 1, looking at who we can bring back and dealing with the marketplace.”

Asked specifically about trades, Kupchak said: “Why not? Sure. We went through it last year. Other than at the trade deadline, we didn’t do anything last year. But when you lose before you think you should have lost, you have to open up all opportunities.”

Kupchak was vague about the future of a frequently mentioned trade candidate, power forward Pau Gasol. “I have not met with ownership,” Kupchak said. “I don’t know what direction the team is going to go, what the parameters will be going forward, so there wasn’t really anything additional to share with Pau or share with you people about what may take place between now and the draft or now and July 1 or post-July 1.”

Kupchak added: “I don’t suspect that he’ll ever be the same based on what took place this year [Gasol's aborted trade to the Rockets]. … I’m sure there’s a little bit of trust that’s not quite the same.”

The Portland Trail Blazers are yet again looking to fill an open general manager position, and according to Chris Broussard and Marc Stein of ESPN, they have their eyes on a big target — Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.

Kupchak has been in the Lakers’ front office for over 25 years, and he’s been in charge ever since Jerry West left in the summer of 2000. Sources tell ESPN that the Blazers have a strong interest in stealing him away, but Blazers president Larry Miller told the Oregonian that he “can’t answer” whether he plans to seek permission to talk to Kupchak.

“Maybe,” Miller said. “I don’t want to get into who’s on our list [and] not on our list.”

The Blazers fired Rich Cho last May and have been looking for a new general manager ever since. Chad Buchanan currently holds the position on an interim basis.