This article got run at Warriors World. This is my version.
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While Golden State sits at the NBA mountain top as the reigning champions, buoyed by a well-managed salary cap and young stars on team-friendly contracts, the Lakers languish at the bottom, with a roster built around a 37-year-old former superstar, two rookies*, and the player formerly known as "all-star Roy Hibbert." The opposing trajectories of the two franchises is especially remarkable when considering the recent past. (*Julius Randle isn't technically a rookie, but he missed all but 14 minutes of his first year.)
Warriors fans remember well when the team from So-Cal was the envy of bay area natives. Just five years ago, in June of 2010, it was Kobe Bryant and Company that were celebrating an NBA championship; and it was Golden State that was commiserating a 56-loss season. What happened in the five intervening years that has created such a dichotomy between the two franchises?
The front office of both teams have engaged in bold player acquisitions, awarded risky contracts, and gambled on new coaches multiple times with varying success.
Below, we revisit some of the more memorable transactions that have molded each team since the confetti fell on Staples Center five summers ago.
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Re-signing the Franchise Player
Lakers:
Perhaps no transaction is more illustrative of the differences in franchise philosophy, and responsible for the outcome of the last few years than the new contract each team awarded its star player. In the winter of 2013, the Buss family came to a unified agreement to offer then-35-year-old Kobe Bryant -- who hadn't played a game since a torn Achilles tendon -- a contract extension worth $48.5 million. Observers around the league had been optimistic that Bryant would take a contract similar to Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki (a team-friendly deal that'd keep the legend with the team until retirement), that would allow the organization enough financial wiggle room to build a roster with proven free agents going forward. That was not to be however, as Jim Buss publicly declared that the new mega deal was in part to pay for Bryant's previous years of service, financial flexibility be damned. As a deal to keep fans packing the Staples Center, it was understandable, but as a pure basketball decision, it's an ongoing disaster that continues to mitigate the franchise's ability to bring in coveted players in the off-season. The first year of Kobe's extension accounted for roughly 40% of the Lakers salary cap, effectively ending any notion of teaming a squad of talented free agents with Bryant (if they managed to not bungle the meeting first).
Warriors:
The Warriors on the other hand, agreed with Stephen Curry on what is unarguably the most team-friendly contract in professional sports. When Curry inked his deal in 2012, he was coming off ankle surgery and had missed 40 of 66 games the previous season. Though obviously talented, there were legitimate concerns that his ankle issues could derail a promising career (a la Magic-era Grant Hill). The Warriors and Curry, thus, agreed to a 4-year $44 million deal that was considered fair for both sides at the time given the health risks. Curry's comically low salary has allowed the Warriors to field a deep and talented roster around the MVP featuring Iguodala, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, Andrew Bogut, and also keep them in position to make a play for Kevin Durant this summer.
Coaching Hire
Lakers:
After a disappointing 1-4 start to the 2012-2013 season, LA abruptly fired Mike Brown. In his place, the Lakers had the opportunity to reunite with Phil Jackson and his 13 championship rings but, instead, stunned the NBA world and Jackson by hiring Mike D'Antoni despite a less-than-stellar run in New York (121-167) that ended with his resignation from the Knicks. D'Antoni struggled in two years with LA managing an injured team, and engaged in regular public feuds with all-star Pau Gasol. He led the team to a 67-87 record before resigning for the second time in as many jobs. Jeannie Buss would later say she felt like she'd been "stabbed in the back" by her brother Jim Buss' decision to hire D'Antoni over Jackson. The Lakers today are coached by Byron Scott, a man who has publicly stated in the pace-and-space era of 2015 that three-pointers don't win championships, and whose defensive principle is for everyone to "man up."
Warriors:
In June 2011, Golden State tabbed Mark Jackson straight out of the announcing booth to lead the nascent Warriors. The former point guard made good on his promise to deliver the Warriors to the playoffs (albeit a year late), and transformed the team from a turnstile on defense under Don Nelson into one of the best in the league. He breathed confidence into the young Warriors, especially during timeouts where team huddles resembled more motivational speech than Xs and Os talk. Together, the team won a first-round series against the favored-Nuggets and, in the following season, took the Clippers to seven games despite missing their two best centers. After a public fallout between ownership and Jackson, the coach was let go in favor of another first-time coach, Steve Kerr. Again the Warriors landed the perfect coach at the perfect time as Kerr demonstrated leadership and pa
The "All In" move
Lakers:
Los Angeles was poised to become the next "Super Team" when they traded for Dwight Howard after acquiring Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix. Pairing the two new-comers with Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace was supposed to help the Lakers decimate the league on its way to another championship. It was not to be however, as the expected starting unit managed to play in one game together. Nash appeared in only 50 games while battling an assortment of injuries; Howard struggled to find his form coming off back surgery; and the new Big Three had chemistry issues on and off the court. The move to create the "Super Team" cost the Lakers Andrew Bynum and 4 future draft picks -- one of which will be conveyed this off season -- thwarting LA's ability to rebuild with young players.
Warriors:
Golden State's new acquisition was far less splashy, but every bit as big a gamble. In the summer of 2013, Andre Iguodala, fresh off a strong stint in Denver, agreed to a 4-year $48 million deal with Golden State. In order to create cap space to complete the transaction, the Warriors sent two unprotected future first-round draft picks and two second-rounders to entice the Utah Jazz to take the contracts of Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson. After the deal, Golden State was effectively capped out, and had (like the Lakers) four fewer draft picks with which to improve their roster. They were all in -- team improvement would have to come from the roster as constructed. The gamble paid off as Iguodala became the Finals MVP, playing superb defense on Lebron James en route to the team's first championship in 40 years.
Ownership Change
Lakers:
LA's front office was once the envy of the league. Owner Jerry Buss, Mitch Kupchack and Jerry West oversaw multiple championships and were always liable to lure a marquee free agent like Shaquille O'neal to Tinsel Town. In February of 2013, Buss died at the age of 80. His passing left a schism in the Lakers' leadership group as the Buss siblings, Jim and Jeanie publicly sparred over control of the franchise and front office decisions. As President of the team, Jeanie has stated that her brother is on a three-year timeline to get the Lakers back in "contention." The end date of the three years remains ambiguous but the continual infighting and front office instability does not.
Warriors:
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber purchased the Warriors from Chris Cohan in 2010 for a then-record $450 million. After a rocky start that saw Lacob vociferously booed by Warriors fans at Oracle following the trade of fan-favorite Monta Ellis, the new owners steadily began to gain the trust of Warriors loyalists with one franchise-improving transaction after the other. Golden State plucked Klay Thompson with the 11th pick in the 2011 lottery. In the following draft, they nailed three foundation pieces in Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green. They made the right coaching-hire in Jackson, and a better hire in Kerr. The team returned to the playoffs after a five-year drought. They have a brain trust that includes former-Laker Jerry West and reigning NBA Executive of the Year, Bob Myers working cohesively over every proposed transaction. And that esteemed group rewarded the franchise by deciding to not trade for Kevin Love, electing instead to keep Klay Thompson and the team's nucleus together. They have a new arena coming. And they won 67 games and the NBA championship last year.
The front office of an NBA franchise matters, as we are reminded again and again and a
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