Jul 24, 2014; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak introduces Jeremy Lin during a press conference at Toyota Sports Center.
Jul 24, 2014; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak introduces Jeremy Lin during a press conference at Toyota Sports Center. REUTERS

Despite coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history, GM Mitch Kupchak is positive for the upcoming 2014-2015 NBA season saying over the weekend that the Los Angeles Lakers are not on rebuilding mode but rather are aiming for the NBA championship.

"Our expectations are to win a championship. I know that sounds...” Kupchak declared with hesitation via the L.A. Times. "Expectations outside of this room might not be the same.”

Kupchak might not have forgotten how tough the previous season was. The Lakers went 27-55, second worst in the Western Conference and sixth worst in the entire NBA. The 32.9% winning percentage is the lowest in franchise history since they went 19-53 (26.3%) in the 1957-1958 season.

For the upcoming NBA seaosn, there will be no Pau Gasol, who was the Lakers top big man in previous years and Mike D’Antoni, who was responsible for the a run-and-gun scheme that never quite worked in Hollywood.

What the Lakers will have are 36-year-old Kobe Bryant, coming back from various injuries and 40-year-old Steve Nash, who will be playing in the final year of his long and colourful NBA career

The Lakers will feature a bunch of new acquisitions in Jeremy Lin (with an offseaosn trade with the Houston Rockets); Carlos Boozer (free agency, waived by the Chicago Bulls); Julius Randle (7th pick overall of the 2014 NBA Draft) and Jordan Clarkson, who is pegged as a second round steal.

The Lakers offseason was generally considered a failure as they missed out on the big names like Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) and LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and the only noteworthy acquisition is that of Lin, who is expected to start at the point guard spot and the rookies, who may take time before they develop into regular NBA contributors.

Others staying in L.A. from last season are power forward Jordan Hill, scorer Nick Young and back-ups Robert Sacre and Xavier Henry.

Kupchak’s cause for optimism is Bryant, who is reportedly back to 100% health and previous form for the upcoming season.

"I think he's going to have an excellent year. He's been working every day." Kupchak said via the same article.

Despite the obvious obstacles like NBA mileage and coming off major surgeries, Kupchack believes Bryant, who will enter his 19th NBA season, will reinvent his game and find a way to be effective for the Lakers.

"He's going to play differently than he played 10 years ago, maybe not so different than what he played two or three years ago. I think he'll be very effective.”

With a returning Kobe Bryant and perhaps a healthy Steve Nash, the Lakers’ expectations are indeed higher than last season. Jeremy Lin, Carlos Boozer and Julius Randle will make modest contributions but unfortunately for Kupchak, his expectations of contending for an NBA title won’t come into fruition at least this season.

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