Payton was furious. Since the 1996 Finals when he was crushed by Roger, the SuperSonics had been unable to recover. Forget about the championship, they hadn't even made it to the Finals again.
Seeing himself already 35 years old, Payton didn't want to end his career like this, not wanting to be a player without a championship.
For the championship, he was willing to sacrifice the contract amount and his standing in the team, as long as he could win the championship, he didn't care.
But what he couldn't endure was being humiliated by others!
At this stage, Payton still had some pride of a superstar. Originally positioned in the Lakers, he was adamantly unwilling to execute the Triangle Offense. You know, even Karl Malone obediently became a piece in the Triangle Offense, but Gary Payton refused to execute it.
This was one of the reasons why the Lakers' Fab Four were destined to fail.
