OAKLAND – The star-studded NBA team expected to win a championship. They had tension between two of their star players. And one of those players had a pending free agency that loomed over the franchise.
This does not just describe the Golden State Warriors’ quest to win their third NBA title in four years, Draymond Green’s flareup with Kevin Durant and Durant’s uncertain future. This also described the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2012-13 season, Kobe Bryant’s philosophical differences with Dwight Howard and Howard’s equally uncertain future that eventually ended with leaving for the Houston Rockets.
“I don’t know if you can compare the two,” said Spurs forward Pau Gasol, who played with the Lakers from 2008 to 2014.