The 2020 L.A. Lakers achieved the pinnacle of basketball success, delivering on their quest to bring home their 17th Championship.
Despite their success, however, the team went in a different direction that summer, letting go of some key names in favor of guys they believed would make them better.
After that experiment failed miserably, they began reuniting some of their 2020 squad.
Along with some new additions, the Lakers brought back Dwight Howard and, apparently, tried to re-sign Danny Green as well.
According to the Sixers guard himself, Dwight was one of several representatives to give him a pitch:
“Danny Green said Dwight Howard and George Hill tried to get him to L.A. and Milwaukee respectively. Also mentioned Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Golden State and Charlotte as showing some interest.”
Danny Green said Dwight Howard and George Hill tried to get him to L.A. and Milwaukee respectively. Also mentioned Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Golden State and Charlotte as showing some interest.
He said in most cases, teams offered less money or had to sign-and-trade for him.
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) August 12, 2021
So, it appears that the Lakers wanted to bring Green back, which makes sense given that he’s a solid and highly experienced two-way guard.
But why didn’t he come back? During his lone season with the Lakers, he was able to win a title playing alongside LeBron James. What’s not to love about that?
Unfortunately, it’s likely the treatment by fans likely had a factor in pushing him away.
After his playoff struggles in 2020, Lakers Nation was absolutely brutal in their verbal attacks against the 3x Champion.
Here’s what he said after receiving some death threats after Game 5 of the 2020 Finals:
“I had more time than I realized, should have taken more time…I’d give anything to get that shot back again, trust me.” Still, he adds “any person that plays basketball knows it’s never only on one play.”
It’s now well into the offseason, and Mr. Green has already reached an agreement to return to Philadelphia on a two-year, $20M deal.
We’ll have to wait and see for ourselves how Green and the Sixers perform next season. After so much turmoil over this summer, it’s hard to say what their future will look like.
For the Lakers, they seem content with their offseason signings, even without Green.
Still, one has to think that there might be some lingering feelings from both sides about how that 2020 playoff run played out.
