Wow. Pau Gasol and a second round pick heading to LA in exchange for Kwame Brown, Jarvis Crittenton, and future first-round picks in 2008 and 2010. I'd have to say the Lakers' shot at a championship just got a lot better.
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Pau!
01 Feb 2008 03:59 pm
Comments (59)
Wow, sounds like a good trade on both sides.
Gonna be fun watching Phil Jackson try to teach Pau how to play defense.
Laker's are gonna be sick on offense once Bynum gets back....that's 4 All-Star talent players they'll have in Kobe, Gasol, Bynum and Odom...
And this is bad news for the Sixers. Before this deal, they were going to be the only real player in the free agent market this year.
Now they'll have competition for Gilbert et al.
When does basketball season start, anyway?
What, no post about the big Jason Collins - Stromile Swift deal that also looks like it's going down?
Seriously, though, for all the potential deals between the Grizz and Bulls that were talked about, couldn't the Bulls have offered something better than this? I don't understand Chicago at all.
Wow, what a monster front line the Lakers will have when Bynum returns. And Mihm!
Laker's are gonna be sick on offense once Bynum gets back....that's 4 All-Star talent players they'll have in Kobe, Gasol, Bynum and Odom...
My question is whether the Lakers are committed to keeping Odom. As far as I can tell, Odom isn't a 3. So once Bynum comes back, does Odom go to the bench? Is there enough minutes at the 4/5 for all three of them?
Celtics in 6.
I think the Lakers just might survive until Bynum returns. I honestly can't project who is likely to win the West this year-it's crazy. Unless someone drives a stake through the Spurs, they're always a threat. Watching them crawl back against the Suns last night was like a bad repeat. You just knew one of their geriatrics was going to stick a three at some point to bring them back.
"The Grizz sold far too cheaply."
I mean, seriously, this would've been a lousy deal for the Grizz even if they'd gotten Farmer instead of Crittendon. As it stands, it's worse than Minny's Garnett deal.
They either want to be a big player in free agency this summer, or this is just an owner who wants to save money at any cost.
Who says expiring contracts don't have value? Kwame finally came through for the Lakers.
NOOOOOOOOO!
"My question is whether the Lakers are committed to keeping Odom."
If they think Bynum can stay healthy, and if they think Bynum and Gasol can play effectively together, then you definitely deal Odom at some point.
I'd probably keep him for the rest of this year, though.
I mean, seriously, this would've been a lousy deal for the Grizz even if they'd gotten Farmer instead of Crittendon.
Critt's going to be better than Farmar. Size matters, and so does quickness.
Once again the Bulls get owned. They should have been able to offer better packages for Garnett and Gasol.
For Memphis whether this was a good deal or not depends on what they do with the cap room. Having the space is great, but you still gotta get someone to want to sign with you.
For Memphis whether this was a good deal or not depends on what they do with the cap room. Having the space is great, but you still gotta get someone to want to sign with you.
Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. After all, last year they were able to convince Darko to sign there - and look how well that turned out.
Great deal for both sides. Lakers may now be the favorite in the West, assuming Bynum returns on schedule. Grizz clear out cap space, grab some picks, and still have Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, and Darko (still only 22!) to build around.
For Memphis whether this was a good deal or not depends on what they do with the cap room.
This is, in part, addition by subtraction. Gasol doesn't fit their team anymore. In a tenuously similar way, I think we can all admit that we would credit Isiah with a master stroke if he managed to trade Starbury for a block of cheese.
And I worry about Pau. I'd rather have Odom, if I had to choose.
Wow, are you just messing with me? I've got to go check this out!
Wow.
Better place your futures bets now, because Lakers will win the championship. Gasol is perfect Triangle PF fit, and moves Lamar Odom to SF.
How do you beat a team with Kobe, Lamar, Gasol, and Bynum?
Grizz clear out cap space, grab some picks, and still have Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, and Darko (still only 22!) to build around.
Don't forget Kwame!
Huh. Somebody took Kwame Brown.
SCMT's 4:17 puzzles me.
How do you beat a team with Kobe, Lamar, Gasol, and Bynum?
You count on Gasol to destroy the Lakers' defense. I'm less sure that this is a big win than most people.
Kwame is the only player I've seen in recent memory blow a two-handed dunk attempt.
I liked Crittenton, but you knew he wasn't going to be on the team for too long.
SCMT's 4:17 puzzles me.
It was a joke, mostly for Petey's sake. I was a Kwame fan, and now I'm residually a Kwame fan. I just can't see that size married to that athleticism without getting a little...excited. But he's a gawddamn headcase, and the fact that he's not primarily responsible for that headcase-ness doesn't actually make him not a headcase.
SCMT, I know Gasol is no stopper, but "destroy the defense"? Really? Is a Bynum/Gasol/Odom frontline that much worse than the Bynum/Odom/Walton frontline, or the Bynum/Brown/Odom lineup? Gasol is a nice shot blocker, too, so pairing him with Bynum could be pretty sweet.
Gasol will not destroy Lakers defense, especially with Bynum and Lamar next to him (and Kobe), and Lakers will easily be the most efficient offense in the league now.
You can win with either defense or offense, as long as it's overwhelming or gets you over the edge, and Lakers will win with offense.
You count on Gasol to destroy the Lakers' defense.
I was unaware that Odom is a such great defender that replacing him with Gasol in the lineup will destroy the defense.
Gasol isn't Garnett. His contribution is post scoring, and there's only so much room on the block once Bynum comes back.
It's a great deal on their side and the Lakers were right to pull the trigger. But Gasol doesn't automatically equal a ticket out of the stacked West. Particularly if the Mavs are able to pry away Jason Kidd without giving up too much.
Kwame's not just a headcase. He's also not a very talented basketball player. There's more to this game than size and athletecism. Kwame has bad hands and a terrible feel for the game. Those things are innate talents nearly as much as size and speed are. He could work to get better, but he's never going to be an All-Star, because he's just not that good. Someone saw him physically dominating high school kids and forgot to notice whether he could actually play.
Once again the Bulls get owned.
The worthwhile Bulls talent is either Deng or young. And you have to give up enough to have the contracts match. I bet they weren't willing to give up the young'uns.
Someone saw him physically dominating high school kids and forgot to notice whether he could actually play.
"Someone!" So nice not to name names. The funny thing is that the someone was able to buy himself another management job in the NBA. Thankfully it doesn't take him away from his hobby of flirting with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kevin Bacon in underwear commercials.
I was unaware that Odom is a such great defender that replacing him with Gasol in the lineup will destroy the defense.
First, Gasol won't replace Lamar, just put him at his rightful place as versatile do-everything SF, and second, Lamar has been playing great defense this year, making it a top priority of his game.
Lakers will overwhelm teams now when Drew (Bynum) gets back, but Lamar probably won't be around in the future once his contract comes up (until then, it's about Phil's 10th championship).
Um, maybe some who actually follows the Lakers can clear this up - can Odom actually play the 3??? My impression is that he doesn't/can't - so we won't be seeing Bynum/Gasol/Odom play at the same time... That's kind of why I assumed that Odom would go to the bench when Bynum comes back.
?can Odom actually play the 3???
He prefers the three, as I recall. Phil wants him as the four because they need the boards. On offense, "The Goods" can probably play all five spots, though, obv., not all equally well.
I watch the Lakers a bit, living in Southern California even though I'm not a fan. Odom never starts at the 3, but you see him play there a lot, with Turiaf or Brown or Radmanovic at the 4. Sometimes you see him guarding 3s -- he was on LeBron quite a bit in the last game against the Cavs. He's mostly a perimeter player, especially on offense. I think he can play alongside Gasol. Maybe if the other team is fast like the Warriors or the Suns, you bench one of those guys for a faster front line, but it should work against most teams. If you want to go small, slide Gasol to the 5.
Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Walton, Fisher, Farmar and Ariza is a damn fine 8-man rotation, and that doesn't even count Radmanovic, Vujacic (sp?), Turiaf, or Mihm. That team is stacked like Jerry Buss's daughter.
YES!!!!
*takes a deep breath*
YES!!!!
Thank you, Kupchak.
See ya, Kwame.
Who would have thought at the end of last year that there was any chance of seeing a Celts-Lakers final this year or any time in the near future?
If Kobe doesn't get it done at this point, he'll only have himself to blame.
The Lakers tried Lamar at the "3" at the start of this season, but it didn't really click. He's very mobile for a 6'10" guy, but still has trouble with quick guys of the Jamal Wilkes variety. The Lakers' staff said they switched him back to the "4" because it hurt his rebounding too much to add a lot of value to the team. Not sure that's the real reason.
I agree with those who say that Lamar will probably be traded, but not before the end of the season, and that will give him a chance to stick. Despite his flaws (he's just not a great shooter, as we saw last night) he works hard, can guard big guys (like Duncan and Stoudemire), run the break, drive and kick, and is still the team's best rebounder. Now that the Lakers have added another shooter, he'll be under no pressure to shoot, and may become the all-around amazing big man he's always had the potential to be. I hope it works out for him in L.A. He's a great guy.
There is a lot of debate in the Lakers community on what Lamar's best position really is. I personally think he is better at 4 than 3, but we are only talking relative margins, here. He can play both spots just fine.
"And I worry about Pau. I'd rather have Odom, if I had to choose."
You're nutso, SCMT.
Odom is an only somewhat better than average glue guy. Pau is a skilled inside presence that a PJ designed and Kobe led team can really use to good effect.
Pau is going to give their 3 point shooters' a lot of open looks.
once again, people somehow thinking a team gets over the hump in their first year together. unlikely. i mean, do the lakers now really have that much better a lineup than, e.g., the suns? or the mavs? and how well's that worked out for those teams.
re the hanes commercials, they're just bizarre. kevin bacon? cuba? who picks these guys? and the one with cuba saying he's got MJ's drawers just doesn't even make any sense (and they made MJ look dumpy, too (or maybe they made him look less dumpy)).
"once again, people somehow thinking a team gets over the hump in their first year together. unlikely"
Somewhat unlikely. Not very unlikely.
"do the lakers now really have that much better a lineup than, e.g., the suns? or the mavs?"
On paper, they should be able to contend against any team in the West in a 7 game series. That doesn't mean they'll win the title, but on paper, they look like they've got a serious shot.
very unlikely. quick, name a team that's gone from relatively nowhere (playoff success-wise) to win it all, or even make finals, in one year? usually, teams knock at the door for a long time, finally break through.
Pau is a Basque terrorist. The Lakers are going to lose him to Homeland Security at some point. Odom 4EVER!
(There's not a prettier player to watch when he's got his mojo going. He defers too much, and doesn't love the Kobe-dominated triangle. I'd love to see his Kobe-not-there splits. I don't know what it would show.)
very unlikely. quick, name a team that's gone from relatively nowhere (playoff success-wise) to win it all, or even make finals, in one year?
Absent significant injuries, the Lake-show were a fifty win team without him. As they were last year. They were always better than people thought.
Go Spurs Go!!
Duncan >>> Pau + Bynum
So, SCMT, what makes you think Gasol is so singularly awful defensively, that he's ruin the defense when you plug him in for Kwame Brown?
even if the lakers were a 50 win team absent injuries, they haven't gotten out of the first round lately. teams almost never make that leap to the finals, let alone winning. again, this makes the lakers better than the suns or mavs how? and with less experience in the playoffs?
I feel reasonably confident in saying that Pau is Catalan. But I don't want to break SCMT's flow, so carry on...
"I feel reasonably confident in saying that Pau is Catalan."
The Catalans make the most dangerous Basque terrorists because no one expects a Catalan Basque terrorist.
Did it dawn on anyone that the Lakers might not be done dealing? I wouldn't be surprised to see Odom, or maybe even Gasol, get sent off for a PG . . . I've heard there's a certain California boy who's sick of New Jersy.
Did it dawn on anyone that the Lakers might not be done dealing? I wouldn't be surprised to see Odom, or maybe even Gasol, get sent off for a PG . . . I've heard there's a certain SoCal boy who's sick of New Jersey.
very unlikely. quick, name a team that's gone from relatively nowhere (playoff success-wise) to win it all, or even make finals, in one year?
Miami Heat
"I feel reasonably confident in saying that Pau is Catalan."
Or so the mullahs would have you believe. And I trust I need remind no one of Spanish perfidy in connection with Islamofascists a scant 500 years ago.
So, SCMT, what makes you think Gasol is so singularly awful defensively, that he's ruin the defense when you plug him in for Kwame Brown?
He doesn't like to play defense, and, consequently, doesn't play defense and, on a bet, hasn't learned to play defense.. Kwame did, and, when healthy (rare, admittedly), was pretty good. And the problem last year, arguably the year before, and as of now is the Lakers' terrible defense. In the past, the problem was mostly on the perimeter. But post-Bynum, and with a still hobbled Kwame, the Lakers' interior defense just seems terrible. Maybe Pau will be OK. I tend to underrate the importance of shot-blocking, and I think he at least does that.
"Maybe Pau will be OK"
Pau is a terrific two way player with a versatile skill set on both ends of the floor. He's basically a poor man's Duncan.
And on a Kobe led team, that's all you need.
You'll be in love with the dude soon enough.
"Miami Heat"
Bzzzzzz...
They made it to Game 7 of the Conference Finals the year before they won it.
having watched almost every pau nba game, i can't wait to see the almost-constant glare on kobe's face as he lackadaisically goes after another rebound -- or doesn't! pau has so many good moves i swear he can't figure out which to use. oh, and good luck getting him more interested in playing than hanging out smoking in dance clubs. seems to be a real problem.
The '82 Lakers were champs without winning a series the year before. So there's precedent.
Comments closed February 15, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
The key is that they're going to be two late-round picks. The Grizz sold far too cheaply.
The Lakers are now a very serious team.
Posted by Petey | February 1, 2008 4:04 PM