The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly caught in a balancing act between fixing a contending team around aging superstar Kobe Bryant for his speculated one final NBA title push next season as against building a new core for the franchise's long-term future, according to CBS Sports.

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In an interview with Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak admitted that the management is definitely factoring in the five-time champions' future when making draft and trade decisions. Kupchak said that they want to create "significant progress" next season after two years of not qualifying for the postseason.

He acknowledged that L.A. fans are so used to having a "good product" and Kobe is always unhappy when the Lakers "is not enough to win," and they try and base their decision on those two things.

Kupchak also noted that they are more inclined to go for an All-Star veteran during free agency than to develop a new draftee to overstep a rebuilding process. However, he cautioned that they have to be careful in taking that path because Lakers' executives do not want the team to end up in the middle of the pack where they can only go as far as being the eight seed in the playoffs or having a low-quality draft pick.

In a separate interview with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News last week, Kupchak emphasized that the Lakers are not going to draft a player based on the preference of Bryant and instead will use their no. 2 pick for someone who has the potential to stay in the league longest. He added that Kobe will just be the role model of the player they decide to pick as he will "impart a work ethic in training camp that will be beneficial to any player we bring."

It truly is a delicate high-wire for Kupchak and company in trying to navigate this predicament. One more year and $25 million to go in Bryant's salary and after that the GM hopes that Kobe will accept a "smaller" but still hefty deal if he so decides to keep on playing.

Nonetheless, the Lakers will still have a hard time persuading any potential franchise free agent as long as is Kobe around not only for the fraction of the pie he takes but also because of his downhill efficiency of play. 

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak