81 chapters: Confrontation

Morris Lucas had a failed season with the Lakers last year.

He couldn't get along with Magic Johnson, Jabbar, or Pat Riley at all.

Clearly, the Lakers weren't suited for him, nor he for the Lakers; it was a mismatched union.

Lucas returned to the perennially rainy Pacific Northwest coast, attempting to go back to Portland.

But the Trail Blazers' frontcourt was amply stocked, and the management was concerned about Lucas's temper.

During the Walton era, he had been the team's troublemaker, always dissatisfied and complaining about many things.

It had been he who led the vote against giving Calvin a playoff bonus, believing Calvin only served Walton.

Now, the Trail Blazers were Gan Guoyang's team, and the Blazers did not want to bring a locker room bomb back into the fold.

So Lucas went to Seattle, where he actually performed quite well, finding his role.