The Warriors' 115-101 victory Saturday night was the straw that broke the Los Angeles Lakers' back.
After the game, several Lakers players and coach Luke Walton reportedly got in a verbal altercation, after Walton criticized their selfish play in the defeat.
The loss to the defending champs was not the reason things got heated in the Los Angeles locker room. Well, not the main one, anyway.
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The ongoing trade rumors revolving around the Lakers and their reported pursuit of Pelicans' star Anthony Davis have created a tense environment in Los Angeles, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania, and it's unlikely to die down in the week ahead.
Per Charania, as many as eight of the Lakers' 15 players have been rumored to be sent the other way in a potential Davis trade, although New Orleans reportedly has been underwhelmed by the Lakers' offers up to this point.
The NBA trade deadline is on Thursday, Feb. 7, so if a trade were to be completed between the two teams, it would have to be fairly imminent, hence the heightened tension. Davis is under contract with the Pelicans for this season and next, so New Orleans has the option to hold off until the offseason -- or longer -- if they aren't impressed by the Lakers' offers over the next handful of days.
Outside of LeBron James -- who missed Saturday's game due to load management -- very few people in the Lakers' locker room can be confident they have a guaranteed spot on next year's team. As long as that's the case, tension will remain high.
Golden State Warriors
Making matters worse for Los Angeles, the loss to the Warriors dropped their record to 27-26 on the season, two games back of the final playoff spot in the West in 10th place.
So, after the locker room confrontation, Walton did his best to smooth things over ... with some sweets.
The Lakers coach passed out homemade brownies to "anyone who showed any interest," according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.
Which -- aside from being a nice thing to do -- makes sense, considering he clearly already has enough on his plate at the moment.