Lakers Approaching Historic Disappointment in LeBron's First Season
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Summary
Howard was ejected in the fourth and final game, his last moments in a Lakers uniform, and he signed with the Houston Rockets a few months later.Losing to the Spurs paled to the loss of Bryant in what signified the end of an era. After a Game 3 win, Los Angeles pulled ahead at home by 24 points only to lose by six in one of the team's most devastating collapses of all time.Bryant seemed angry for a year straight, but the Lakers were able to return to the Finals the next June to defeat the Orlando Magic. Bryant and the Lakers then got revenge over the Celtics in a Game 7 slugfest for the 2009-10 title."Losing to the Celtics in 2008 was a terrible way to end the season, but that year was a ton of fun, as they outperformed expectations behind Bynum's emergence and the midseason trade of Gasol," video analyst Pete Zayas said."It sucked, sure, but we [only made it to] the first round the year before," the executive said. "Making the Finals was a success to get Kobe away from his trade request." Summer of 2016As Bryant's career wound down, the Lakers began to hoard cap space to chase star free agents like Kevin Durant and James. The Lakers couldn't lure stars with their available cap space, so instead of being patient and waiting a year, they spent it on two aging role players who didn't fit with the team's young core."I never expected the Lakers to land a star after a 17-win season, but I didn't expect Mozgov and Deng, either," Zayas said. Pre-Century HistoryThe initial O'Neal/Bryant years ended in playoff failure until the team hired Jackson before the 1999-00 season.Johnson's abrupt retirement devastated the NBA in 1991 after he announced he had contracted HIV.
As said here by Eric Pincus