Mitch Kupchak not named executive of the year, but does tie for 10th

After the Lakers finished the 2014-15 season with a 21-61 record, it’s no surprise that General Manager Mitch Kupchak was not named executive of the year by the NBA.

On Friday, the award went to Bob Myers, general manager of the Golden State Warriors.

Kupchak did, however, receive a single second-place vote, tying him in 10th place with Dell Demps (New Orleans Pelicans), Flip Saunders (Minnesota Timberwolves), John Hammond (Milwaukee Bucks) and Sam Hinkie (Philadelphia 76ers).

David Griffin (Cleveland Cavaliers) came in second behind Myers.

The voting was done by a panel of basketball executives throughout the NBA. The last executive with the Lakers to take home the honor was Jerry West for the 1994-95 season.

Even if it was a solitary vote, Kupchak’s peers did rank him ahead of 16 other executives for his work this past season, including Doc Rivers of the Clippers (who didn’t receive any votes), R.C. Buford of the San Antonio Spurs, Chris Wallace of the Memphis Grizzlies and Masai Ujiri of the Toronto Raptors.

While the season itself was a disaster (in terms of winning percentage, the worst in franchise history), the Lakers got a steal with the 46th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft in Jordan Clarkson.

Rookie Julius Randle (seventh overall) remains a promising selection for the Lakers, although he sat out almost the entire year after suffering a broken leg on opening night.

Kupchak also added rookies Jabari Brown and, via waiver claim, Tarik Black. In addition to acquiring Jeremy Lin in a trade from the Houston Rockets over the summer, the Lakers also received the Rockets’ first-round pick (27th) in June.

Free-agent signing Ed Davis also was productive in his first season with the Lakers.

Clearly the Lakers did not have a good year, but there were some bright spots with credit to Kupchak.

The Lakers could have nearly $25 million in spending power this summer, along with whatever haul they can make in the 2015 NBA draft.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.