12 Players who turned their back on the Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors | Ezra Shaw/GettyImages
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1. Chris Webber

Chris Webber was one of the coolest basketball players in the country playing at the University of Michigan as one of the "Fab Five" freshmen. When the Golden State Warriors drafted him first overall in the 1993 NBA Draft it energized a fan base. Webber and second-year wing Latrell Sprewell should have paired together to lead the Warriors for the next decade.

Webber was electric as a rookie, winning Rookie of the Year and helping the Warriors back to the playoffs. However, he frequently clashed with head coach Don Nelson, who wanted Webber to play center in his fast-paced, small-ball lineups. That disagreement turned ugly and eventually became irreconcileable, forcing the Warriors to trade Webber after his first season. He was sent to the Washington Bullets for forward Tom Gugilotta and three future first-round draft picks.

Although injuries hampered him at times, Webber paired with his old college teammate Juwan Howard for the Washington Bullets and had a lot of on-court success. Then he joined the Sacramento Kings and his career truly took off, including five-straight All-NBA appearances. Gugliotta had a fine career, playing for 13 seasons, but only made a single All-Star Game and was fairly pedestrian for the Warriors.

What's the worst way a player turns his back on a franchise? Is it walking away from something good in free agency? Demanding a trade? Failing to give your all to a team? Allowing immaturity and a lack of self-control to take a talented player off the court? Feuding with your teammates, coaches or even the owner?

Many of these are nuanced situations, and these players weren't all wrong for the choices they made. Yet in each case these players turned their back on the Warriors and left the team in some way or another.

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