Kobe Bryant’s tirade directed at highest level of Lakers management, not Mitch Kupchak

While Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak released a statement Monday in response to Kobe Bryant’s rant regarding the organization’s handling of forward Pau Gasol, Kupchak was not the target of Bryant’s remarks. Bryant was actually targeting higher-ups in the Lakers’ front office, particularly executive VP Jim Buss, son of owner Jerry Buss, whose influence in basketball decisions has grown considerably.

When the Lakers’ season ended at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s playoffs, management began cleaning house—assistant general manager Ronnie Lester, as well as most of his scouts and several other basketball operations staff, were let go. The organization purged many with close ties to former coach Phil Jackson.

“It would be interesting to find out who's doing the scouting," a source told CBS Sports.

One source told the site that Kupchak is "on an island by himself,” and another added, “He doesn't know who to trust anymore.”

The front office’s failure to communicate with Bryant has been a major bone of contention for the star. Bryant was not informed of the decision to hire Mike Brown to replace Jackson, or about the move to trade Lamar Odom to Dallas.

"When Kobe speaks up, it means things are getting bad," a source with ties to Bryant told CBS Sports. "It means nobody's telling him anything."