Jackson, Kupchak have done their jobs

Kobe Bryant is trying to nail down a second consecutive most-valuable-player trophy, but he won’t be the only one in the Lakers’ franchise considered for an award.

General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Coach Phil Jackson will get some support for executive of the year and coach of the year, respectively.

“We’ll finish up either with the best or second-best record in the league,” forward Lamar Odom said. “They did their jobs.”

Kupchak presided over the trades for Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza last season, not to mention the drafting of Andrew Bynum with the 10th overall pick in 2005.

Kupchak, in his ninth season as the head of basketball operations for the Lakers, has never won the award, which is determined by a vote of about 125 media members. Kupchak finished second last season to Boston’s Danny Ainge.

Jackson has won nine NBA championships but has been coach of the year only once in his 18-year career, when the Chicago Bulls went a record-setting 72-10 on the way to the 1996 NBA championship.

Jackson finished fifth last season in the voting for coach of the year, won by Byron Scott of New Orleans.

Jackson, for the record, said he should not be considered for the award, saying it usually goes to someone coaching a “surprise or an interesting team.”

“Last year we finished first in the West and it looks like we’re going to do it again now,” he said. “I don’t think it’s an unexpected situation.”

Other candidates for executive of the year include Cleveland’s Danny Ferry, Orlando’s Otis Smith and Denver’s Mark Warkentien. Other candidates for coach of the year include Cleveland’s Mike Brown, Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy and Houston’s Rick Adelman.

Bynum update

It’s the topic that just won’t end: When will Andrew Bynum return?

The injured Lakers center could be back as early as Thursday against Denver, depending partly on his performance at today’s practice.

“I’ll discuss that with him [today] when we get back and have a practice,” Jackson said. “He wouldn’t play that many minutes anyway in an opening game. The first game’s going to be kind of a feel-it-out type of game.”

Bynum has been sidelined by a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee since Jan. 31.

Bynum’s return could signify Odom’s return to the second unit, which would boost the Lakers’ reserves.

“They played really well at the start of the year,” Jackson said. “A lot of times [Odom] was out there not putting up big numbers, but being a real positive effect because of his presence, his confidence factor, his ability to rebound and push the ball for them. It gave them some solidity.”

Spurred

The Lakers have had many memorable playoff battles with San Antonio over the years, but the Spurs might not be a factor now that sixth man Manu Ginobili will miss the playoffs because of a stress fracture in his right ankle.

“I certainly think that they can win a playoff series with what they’ve got,” Jackson said.

What about a championship?

“It’s hard to project that,” Jackson said. “Someone’s going to have to step up and fill that spot. ‘Gino’ had that little extra he could provide at the end of the game, where he could get six points or a steal in the last couple of minutes, and they’re going to miss that.”

Sun setting

Not surprisingly, the odds of rookie Sun Yue being on the Lakers’ playoff roster are “very slim,” Jackson said.

Sun, who sustained a sprained ankle last month while playing for the Lakers’ minor league affiliate, the D-Fenders, might not even be back on the practice court when the first round begins.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com