"I was so sad. I wanted to come back, and I don't know what had happened," Howard said, expressing his feelings about not returning to the Lakers after their championship win. He felt confused and misled about his status post-season.
Buss clarified to Howard, "Oh, no, that's not true. We made an offer. We did," highlighting the miscommunication between Howard and his agent regarding the Lakers' interest in re-signing him.
Howard remarked, "I think for a player, if a team is saying, like, we have a contract but you have to wait to sign it or we gotta sign other players first, it'd just seem like you're not a priority." This reflects the emotional complexities players face regarding contracts.
Buss sympathized with Howard's feelings about perceived priority, stating, "I can see why you would feel that way and [that's] probably what another team trying to sign you would say to you to put us down." This underscores the negotiation intricacies in the league.
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