Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak still believes his team has the nucleus of a potential NBA champion.

"We believe in this group," Kupchak said. "Prior to the lockout there was a month or two where you could make trades, and obviously we didn't do anything. We like the group.

"There's a couple of holes … so we have to fill in and shore up our depth chart a little bit. [Coach]Mike [Brown] made some comments before the lockout that he thought this team could win [a championship], and we feel the same."