Mitch Kupchak doesn't see the advantage in the tanking the coming season for a lottery pick.

"The ping-pong lottery thing, even if you have the very worst team in the NBA, you're not guaranteed to get the first pick," Kupchak said. "I'm not sure getting into the lottery and ending up with 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 [odds] is going to give us a top one or two pick in the draft.

"We still may end up drafting 12, 13 or 14, which is not a great place to draft if you just look back on drafts in this league.”

The Lakers still own their own 2014 first-round pick, which will count against their cap space (projected to be as much as $50 million) for the 2014-15 season.

"We have a pick next year, which is going to be a very good draft. We're very comfortable with the flexibility," said Kupchak. "It just doesn't mean you get free agents; you can take players [via trade].  There are a lot of things you can do with cap room."