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Kupchak Lays Out Team Goals for Upcoming Season

By Eric Yee

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Training camp is less than a week away, and the Los Angeles Lakers final roster is finally beginning to take shape. General Manager Mitch Kupchak sat down with the media for his annual preseason press conference yesterday.

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Here is a breakdown of the biggest takeways from the Kupchak’s interview.

On Success

When asked about what success meant for the Lakers this season Kupchak was very candid in his response. The list is as follows:

  1. To stay healthy
  2. For Kobe Bryant to have a great year
  3. For their young players to prosper and show promise
  4. For Roy Hibbert to have an All-Star year

While he made sure to mention that winning a championship is always the goal, it is interesting to see Kupchak admit that the Lakers are actively building for the future.

Luckily for fans, the Lakers have been masterful when it comes to trades that keep them relevant. That said, to see them rebuilding a team through the draft is an exciting new chapter for both fans and the organization to embrace.

On Rebuilding

Kupchak touched on the three ways to rebuild under the NBA’s existing rules — the draft, free agency and trades — and that the Lakers are going to “utilize all three” in their rebuilding efforts.

"We don’t have the luxury to have a ten-year rebuilding program done through the draft which is why we’ve maintained a lot of flexibility with our cap going forward. And I’m not going to quote how much we have next summer, but it’s significant . . . I don’t think there’s anybody in the league who has more money than we do available this summer. Although, everybody will have money."

Mar 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up prior to a game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Without even having to explicitly state it, Kupchak’s statement made it clear that Los Angeles is not going to shy away from signing free agents next off-season, even after striking out back-to-back years.

This comment should be encouraging to Lakers fans for many reasons, the main being the prospect of possibly signing Kevin Durant.

The gm also made it clear that this season will be different from last in the trade aspect as well.

"I think we do have pieces, you know, that we can be in the discussion this season with other teams. We didn’t have as many pieces a year ago as we do this year"

Kupchak makes an interesting point here. Last season the Lakers roster was full of replacement players on account of their terrible bout with injuries, but this year should go differently.

It will be interesting to see what moves the Lakers make this season, that is, if they make any at all.

On the Roster

One thing Kupchak made sure to mention was that the mixture of veterans and youth will be a great way help the rookies, “learn what it’s like to be a professional.” This comment heavily aligns with the Lakers most recent addition of veteran Metta World Peace.

We’ve not had this kind of activity every day in this building, this kind of energy, for as long as I’ve been here – Mitch Kupchak

When talking about Julius Randle, Kupchak revealed that he has scrimmaged every day for the past 60 days, a great sign for fans considering that he is coming off a season-ending injury.

Furthermore, Kupchak briefly addressed Randle’s Summer League struggles sighting brief five minute time restrictions and his over eager attitude as his main issues.

He ended on a positive note saying that Randle will absolutely, “find his niche and learn how to best use his abilities.”

The gm also let the media know that this off-season is the busiest he has ever seen the Lakers’ practice facility.

"We’ve not had this kind of activity every day in this building, this kind of energy, for as long as I’ve been here. . . The players just show up, and they’re all out there working . . . and I’m not talking about 3 or 4 guys, I think every day for the past 4-5 weeks we’ve had 10-12 Lakers players out there."

The upcoming season is still about a month away, but it is apparent that the new look Lakers are off to a great start.

What did you think about Kupchak’s press conference? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

You can catch the full interview here.

Next: Lakers Ink Metta World Peace to One-Year Deal

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