The Los Angeles Lakers won 35 games last year, their best finish since the 2012-13 season when they were still in playoff contention and in the first (and only) season of their much-hyped roster that featured Dwight Howard and Steve Nash.

It's definitely an improvement given that the team lacked any stars and were trotting around a roster consisting of their first rounders the previous seasons (Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram), a veteran center that may be on his last legs (Brook Lopez), a dependable role player (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), and a trio of promising rookies (Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart). And if head coach Luke Walton's winning trajectory is accurate, the needle is trending up regardless of what moves they made.

Then again, if you can add the best player in the world (LeBron James) to your roster – the chances of the win total improving is not only guaranteed but making the postseason is also within the realm of possibility.

General manager Rob Pelinka certainly feels the same way and believes that they need to set their expectations higher this year and aim for a championship now rather than later.

It's not an unrealistic target. James is known for willing his teams to routine NBA Finals trips after all, although admittedly, the Western Conference is a whole different animal.

But the four-time MVP has done more with less too, and one could make a case that this group is comparable to the previous iterations he carried into deep playoff runs, so it's not improbable that he could turn these largely playoff neophytes into an immediate contender.