BY HENRY ABBOTT

• Last November, the Warriors were the heavy favorites when stars Draymond Green and Kevin Durant had a big argument in the middle of a game. At that time, the Athletic’s Marcus Thompson quoted an unnamed Warrior saying “with what was said, there is already no way Durant is coming back.” In unfair hindsight, that was right. The Warriors would be way better off now if they had traded Durant then for…imagine who they could have gotten! Do you think any team has the courage to trade an MVP away from a contender? It’s unthinkable. But somewhere in there is opportunity for some Art of War strategy. They could have re-built the Warriors in an afternoon.

• LeBron is difficult to work with, and can make co-workers miserable? TrueHoop subscribers know all about that. But the real news of Jake Fischer’s much-discussed Sports Illustrated David Griffin profile is that the Pelicans (who have former Duke star Trajan Langdon in the front office) are quietly becoming the Duke University of…