Forgetting about making another championship run, or whether they can attract top-level free agents next offseason, the biggest questions remaining for the Los Angeles Lakers revolve around Kobe Bryant.

After rehabbing his surgically repaired left Achilles tendon over the past five months, Bryant expressed a lot of optimism that he will return to the floor by the season opener Oct. 29 against the Clippers.

"Now it's about cutting the recovery time, I should be OK [for the start of the season]," Bryant said in an interview with The National, a website in Dubai.

The Lakers have expressed that they'll practice patience with in Bryant's recovery and have "no real expectations" about his health, according to general manager Mitch Kupchak.

"I do believe that he'll get back and he'll play this season," Kupchak said. "You won't be able to look at him and say, 'He was hurt.' In other words, some guys - like myself, when I hurt my knee, I always had a limp. You won't be able to tell (with Bryant). He'll get back on the court. He'll be healthy."

However, Bryant's competitiveness and pain threshold would make it a little less than surprising for him to return in time for the beginning of the season.

"Its' going well. It's going really really good," Bryant said in an interview with a Yahoo! affiliate in Dubai. "I'm feeling strong and doing a little bit of jogging. That's a really good sign. They should know in this season when I come back that I'll be ready."

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