Jared Dudley: Lakers Were Offended Paul George Put Himself on LeBron, AD's Level

The Los Angeles Lakers apparently didn't speak to players on other teams during the NBA bubble, and there were some "real feelings" toward the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Jared Dudley explained in his new book, "Inside the NBA Bubble: A Championship Season under Quarantine."  

As Dudley explained, some of the issues stemmed from Paul George and others calling themselves the team to beat in Los Angeles (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll):

"We hear some of those guys talking about how they're the team to beat in LA. It's fine if Kawhi says stuff like that. He's defending a championship. We don't trip if someone like Patrick Beverley is talking trash; that's how he feeds his family. We get it. We respect the hustle.

... But we think it's disrespectful for Paul George, who hasn't won, to put himself on the level of Bron and AD. This motivates us. When we see those guys around the compound, we don't really kick it with them. The one exception of course is Markieff, whose twin brother, Marcus, is on the Clippers. This probably keeps tensions from boiling over."

The Lakers won the NBA title last season while the Clippers were eliminated in the second round after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets.

The Clippers had high expectations after adding Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the offseason, but the promotional campaign rubbed the Lakers the wrong way.

"Every day when we were on the outside, we were all driving past billboards with Kawhi Leonard wearing a crown. In our city," Dudley wrote. "We didn't like that."

The oft-criticized George struggled during the playoffs, averaging 20.2 points but shooting just 39.8 percent from the field.

On the other hand, he does have six All-Star selections in his career and helped lead the Indiana Pacers to two straight Eastern Conference Finals in 2012-13 and 2013-14. That was more team success than Anthony Davis had before last year since the big man had gone 1-2 in playoff series during his first eight seasons.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue also defended his player Wednesday.

"I know I can't cuss on here, but who cares what outside people think," Lue told reporters.

All the key players are back in Los Angeles this season, and both teams entered Wednesday with 16-6 records to rank among the best in the NBA. It's unlikely these feelings will go away any time soon.