Jim Buss, who is one of the owners of the Los Angeles Lakers, is either a brilliant strategical mastermind, or certifiable. I suppose there is also the possibility that he just has not watched any of his team's games so far this season. The Lakers are cruising toward one of the worst records in the league, and rebuilding will be a tall order.

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But Buss was not going to let little things like reality stand in his way. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, Buss has promised that the team will make the Western Conference Finals within the next three years.

On the surface, that claim seems ludicrous, but is not actually that hard to imagine a scenario where the Lakers could contend again in the near future. For one, the team currently has only four players under contract next year, and one of them will be 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle, who has missed virtually the entire season with a leg injury.

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Also, Los Angeles is historically a premium destination for free agents, and they have already been connected to several of the best free agents for the coming offseason. Landing one or two of those guys, coupled with Randle and the high 2015 draft pick that the Lakers will eventually have, would make for a solid core of a team.

And do not forget, when the NBA renegotiates its media contracts in a few years, the salary cap will rise dramatically, which would position the Lakers to potentially add multiple big-name free agents this offseason, and then add multiple more over the next couple of years, as they will have tons of cap room because of the aforementioned cap rise and the expiration of Kob Bryant's huge contract.

For Lakers fans, a quick return to contention would surely be music to their ears. See the video below to check out what they have been forced to watch all season.