Last season obviously didn't go according to plan for the Los Angeles Lakers and was filled with unmet expectations. As of now expectations aren't as high and the team, as well as fans, are poised to put what happened last year behind them and look forward to a future without Dwight Howard.

Last season, Howard was placed with high expectations from the Lakers and their fans, even after acknowledging he wasn't 100 percent recovered from his back surgery prior to being traded to the Lakers. As a result, Howard was thrust into the spotlight  as many believed he would become the future of the franchise.

This belief seemed to play a role in coach Mike D'Antoni's decision making as he would often play Howard more than forward Pau Gasol, even benching Gasol frequently in key moments of games. However, D'Antoni has recently explained his actions in an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPNLA:

"There was just a lot of factors last year that won't come up this year," D'Antoni said. "I even told (Gasol), you make decisions based a lot of times on the future that probably, if you were just doing the competitive, basketball thing, the decision would have been something else."

Gasol echoed that sentiment by saying:

"Obviously the franchise wanted Dwight to stay and everyone, or a lot of people, tried to make him comfortable and please him at times."

Now with Howard playing in Houston, Gasol is looking forward to reassert himself as one of the leaders on the team.

"I think I have the most uncertain period behind me," Gasol told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The team has suffered a lot of changes, but as far as me, I am back in the position of a lot of responsibility, which I like, and I'm just going to focus on getting healthy.

"Now with Dwight gone I am the reference inside and I am more like I was a couple of years back when we made the finals three straight times and won two straight championships," he added.

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