I came across a story found in the LA Times which discusses in more detail some of the struggles that the Lakers recent 3-peat team went through behind the scenes. Though I imagine that no-one is guiltless in the destruction of the 2004 Lakers, which had 4 Hall of Famers in the starting line-up(Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Gary Payton), I believe that some of them hold more blame than others.
The following is a link to a hands-on debate that went on between some of the Lakers players in the locker room.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-heisler27-2008may27,0,6675361.column
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