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This isn't season one of the Los Angeles Lakers rebuild, but the freshness feels that way.

There's a new Hollywood star at the center of a revamped roster, plus an overhauled front office responsible for the personnel changes. Even the shadow of Kobe Bryant has mostly cleared out, replaced by dreams of rapid prospect development and wild free-agency success.

This is a fun stage of the process, when years of losing began providing tangible on-court benefits. It's also a tricky one in which to stay grounded as everyone anxiously awaits the next step.

Well, consider this a bucket of cold water to jolt everyone back to reality.

We're not rushing any youngsters to the All-Star Game, guiding an unready group into an overcrowded Western Conference playoff field or draping the next prominent external pick-up in purple and gold. Instead, we're laying out reasonable, productive aspirations to make the upcoming NBA season a successful one in Laker Land.