It sounded like a joke with a missing punch line. Such is the bravado of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told ESPN Los Angeles, "Our expectations are to win a championship."
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Instead, Kupchak merely acknowledged that the Lakers' stance is not a widely held belief: "The expectations outside of this room might not be the same."
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Kupchak's confidence stems from watching injured, aging stars Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash's progress in the offseason.
"I think everybody is healthy right now," Kupchak told ESPN LA. "I've watched Kobe throughout the summer. I've gone to watch him work out down in Orange County and he's been up here several times and he looks really good. He said he feels great. No ill effects on either injury. Steve Nash said he feels the best he's felt in a long time. He's been working out and playing every day here in the facility."
Kupchak admitted that his expectations are dependent upon the health of Bryant, Nash and new arrival Carlos Boozer.
Boozer, who will be 33 in November, has averaged 77.5 games the past two seasons. But Nash was limited to 15 games because of back and leg injuries. Bryant, who was coming off surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles' heel last year, subsequently broke his knee cap and played in only six games.
"I think a big degree of our success will be if those three guys can stay healthy," Kupchak said. "For me, a lot of our success this year is going to rely on Steve and Kobe and Carlos. We have three proven veterans. We have other veterans. Jeremy [Lin] is a veteran. Jordan Hill is a veteran. Those are our three most accomplished veterans. They will have to stay healthy and play their best for us to be the best team we can be."
He added that new coach Byron Scott is toying with the idea of restricting the minutes of Bryant and Nash. It's difficult to believe that the ultra-competitive Bryant would be comfortable playing restricted minutes - especially if the Lakers are fighting for a playoff sport.
That may be a stretch in itself, considering the fact that the franchise won 27 games last season, which was its worst since moving to Los Angeles.
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