If they don't know WHY he's as beloved here as he is, then they're just ignorant on the impact he had.
As for the optics of cheering for a player for the other team, it was garbage time--and his return to the NBA has been literally years in the making. The Lakers' G league guy that got called up a few times got very similar love around the league this year.
Sort of lame for them to say anything beyond 'yeah ... obviously he left an impression, and it'll be interesting to see what he does in the league.'