The Los Angeles Lakers' blatant pursuit of Anthony Davis had reverberations beyond their control, as the constant rumors surrounding the players that would be packaged in exchange for his services sapped the morale of those involved, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.

“The midseason gambit to acquire Anthony Davis almost certainly doesn't happen, or become so public, without at least LeBron's tacit go-ahead. Those talks sapped morale, sources say.”

Most believe LeBron James was the initial culprit of that situation, as most saw it as his initiative to make a go for Davis and being willing to put any of his teammates on the line in order to get him after he so willingly told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that he would love to play alongside him.

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That openness and blatant expression of faith not only irritated players, but also brought them back to that very moment as the very start of what now seems like a never-ending saga linking the young core of this team with the six-time All-Star forward.

Adding to that is James' near-obvious disconnection to the rest of his teammates — whether it is on the court by the pointing of fingers in cover of leadership by accountability or by demonstrations such as sitting two chairs away from the closest teammate after he's subbed out of a game.

President Magic Johnson intended to fix matters by having an “air it out” conversation with the players involved in trade talks, but that only backfired, as the results have shown in the last few weeks.