5. Jordan Hill is gone
4. Pau Gasol is gone
Each of these is painful for different reasons. In regards to Hill, he’s a young center who would fit into almost any system that wasn’t D’Antoni’s. His disagreements with MDA in the past two seasons have led to his likely departure from the franchise. His energy and toughness on the glass is irreplaceable and incredibly hard to find in a player, and the Lakers will miss him next year. However, Hill wants to be appreciated, and he hasn’t been and won’t be under D’Antoni.
Somewhat similarly, Gasol has been mistreated under D’Antoni and is likely gone. While I held out belief he might stay, his press conference seemed more like a final farewell than anything else, with lots of reminiscing and a lot of past tense. Certainly Kobe Bryant will make one last, emotional pitch to the Spaniard, but I believe it’ll be all for naught.