Mitch Kupchak was not surprised this will be the final NBA season of Kobe Bryant, but he was surprised by the timing of the announcement.

"I'm not surprised," said Kupchak. "The surprising part of this is that he made the announcement today. My understanding all along was that this was going to be his last year. Certainly there's been speculation and this puts an end to any speculation that he may come back for another year. But it was my understanding all along."

Kupchak admitted the Los Angeles Lakers haven't made his job easy at this stage of his career.

"We didn't make it any easier for him with the group we have on the court. And that's not to say that they're not a talented group of players, but they're certainly young and unaccomplished."

Kupchak was also asked if the mix of Bryant with young players was awkward.

"It is awkward. It's awkward, but there was really no other way to go about it. When you have a player of Kobe's caliber that wants to continue to play, and you think he can play at a high level, you're going to let him play until he no longer wants to play. Yet it's clear that we had to begin the process to rebuild the team. Now we were hopeful that we would get off to a better start this year. We think we added a couple veterans, along with a bunch of young players, and I thought we'd be better than two wins into the season. That's not to say that we'd be on pace to win 50 or 60 games. But I thought we'd be a little bit better. But clearly we're not playing at the kind of level that a player of Kobe's age and experience finds challenging.

"[It's] kind of like, there's no light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not surprised that he would make the announcement now. I think the game will be easier for him now. I think he'll be able to enjoy the rest of the season. We haven't had a chance to huddle up to see if we'll use him any differently in terms of minutes. I don't think that's something that's going to be decided today. But since he has made it clear [that] this is the last season for him, I think it will be more enjoyable. I think people will appreciate what he's accomplished, not only in our building, which has always been [filled] with loads of love, but I think more so on the road."

Kobe Bryant has announced he will retire at the end of the 15-16 season.

Bryant is in his 20th NBA season, all spent with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant won five NBA championships with the Lakers and was regular season MVP in 2008. Bryant also was an 11-time All-NBA First Team selection.

Bryant informed Byron Scott on Saturday that it would be his last season.

Bryant wrote the following on The Player's Tribune:

The Los Angeles Lakers will not bench Kobe Bryant for poor play regardless of his performance.

"I would never, never, never do that," Byron Scott said after practice at the Lakers' facility. "That's not an option whatsoever. No, that's not an option."

Bryant is shooting 31.1 percent from the field and 19.5 percent on three-pointers.

Bryant is averaging more field goal attempts per game (a team-high 16.4) than points (15.2). 

Scott said the plan would just be to keep Bryant as healthy as possible and put him in positions to succeed this season.

"Absolutely," Scott said. "And we'll just roll with the punches."

Byron Scott believes he's still receiving the support from the Los Angeles Lakers' front office.

The Lakers are 2-12 to start the season.

Scott is in the second-year of a four-year contract worth $17 million, with a team option for the final season.

“We still understand that this is a process,” Scott said. “We have a lot of young guys on this team that we feel will be very good players. But it’s not going to happen in a month. It’s going to take some time. It might take a year or two.”

Scott revealed he and Mitch Kupchak have addressed “what we can do to get these young guys better and make the procedure for them a lot easier.”

The Los Angeles Lakers are challenging Julius Randle to improve his jumper.

Randle has always been an effective player on offense due to his strength and ability off the dribble.

“I’ve known the basics,” Randle said of his jumper.

The Lakers believe Randle's form is loose and Tracy Murray is working on refining his fundamentals.

“(A jump shot) keeps everybody honest (defensively),” Byron Scott said, “and if you have to play him for making jump shots, now it gives him the ability to do the thing we know he can do, which is get to the basket.”

Randle spent most of last year focusing on conditioning and getting comfortable again on the court after he suffered a broken leg in the 2014 season opener. The Lakers worked on his shot only in general terms.

“We didn’t go into it real extensively to say, ‘These are the things you have wrong with it,’” Scott said. “That’s the thing we can pinpoint now, where we’re watching him. Gives us a little more data to work on this year.”

In the past, there has often been the notion that Kobe Bryant could spend a season playing in Italy after his NBA career concludes.

But Bryant told ESPN that he has no plans of playing abroad at this point.

Bryant has struggled to stay healthy in each of the past three seasons.

Kobe Bryant played 37 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers' 97-85 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Bryant went 6-for-19 from the field and had a season-high in assists.

Bryant won't play in the Lakers' next game.

"We've got to get this win here at home," Bryant said. "(But) right now, I'm barely standing up. My back and my legs, it's killing me. I go home, and I'm looking forward to that ice bath and the stretch, and a full day of recovery tomorrow. ... I'm not looking forward to walking to the car. Seriously."

The Los Angeles Lakers initially viewed Goran Dragic as a free agent target but changed their mind when they fell in love with D'Angelo Russell.

The Lakers thought they could sign a frontcourt player in free agency.

"I didn’t think about it," said Dragic. "The Miami Heat came first and they offered a good deal. This was the right place for me and my family. It’s a winning culture here and they are doing an amazing job.”

The Heat re-signed Dragic to a five-year, $90 million contract.

D'Angelo Russell sat out the entire fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Miami Heat.

Russell played just 21 minutes in the game, the lowest of any of the team's starters.

Byron Scott explained that Russell didn't get back into the game because the Heat pulled away. But Scott hasn't been playing Russell in close games either.

"I’ve got to figure out what I’m doing wrong so I can correct it,” said Russell.

Russell said Scott hasn't explained what he's doing wrong.

Russell ranks 11th on the Lakers in fourth quarter minutes.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected D'Angelo Russell over Kristaps Porzingis with the second overall pick.

"I liked him because he’s athletic, can shoot the ball. From what we saw, he was able to shoot it from 3-point range pretty easily," Byron Scott said. "He’s a young kid that in the workouts that we had really didn’t show any fear."

The Lakers were concerned about the timeline of Porzingis' development. 

"[We] just thought it was going to take him some time [to develop]," Scott said.

Scott acknowledged how Porzingis has contributed immediately.

"Obviously, we were probably a little wrong about that because he’s playing pretty well right now," Scott said.

Kobe Bryant also was impressed by Porzingis.

"From what I’ve seen so far, he looks pretty damn good," Bryant said. "He’s skillful, he can do a lot of things. He seems to be very competitive, too. He has a good competitive spirit about him."