Posts Tagged ‘Pau Gasol’

What’s Next For The Los Angeles Lakers?

Monday, May 9th, 2011

 

The Lakers' dreams of yet another 3-peat are over

As I’m sitting here watching the Lakers getting their asses handed to them on a free lunch platter for the 4th straight game, all types of thoughts about this team are running through my head.  The Lakers just weren’t the better team in this series.  The Mavericks controlled the paint on both ends of the floor, were the better defensive team, moved the ball better on offense, and just played harder.

The Lakers were swept by the Mavs in a series where most people thought the Lakers were the clear favorites.  After watching the Lakers sort of struggle in the first round with the New Orleans Hornets, I thought the Lakers would have a hard time with Dallas but win in 7 games.  After watching the Lakers closely this season, I saw holes in the team that could be exploited by the right team.  The NBA is all about matchups and a mismatch could cause a team a playoff series.

One of the holes which should have been clear to anyone who knows basketball is the inability of the Lakers to stop dribble penetration.  We can start out with Derek Fisher who has lost the ability to defend his position.  He was a liability the whole season and during both rounds of the playoffs.  It’s time for him to hang it up.  Ron Artest during his career has been one of the best defensive players in basketball, but it’s obvious he has lost a step.  Teams have been attacking Fisher and Artest off the bounce all season, causing breakdowns in the Lakers defense which have led to open 3-point shots, layups, or foul trouble for the Lakers “bigs”.

Next up is Pau Gasol, who was a complete no-show this year in the playoffs. After averaging 20 ppg, 11 rpg, and 2 bpg during the Lakers run to their 2nd straight NBA title in the 09-10 playoffs, he laid a turd this year, putting up averages of 13 ppg and 8 rpg while shooting 42% from the field.  Numbers like this from a player of his caliber are flat out unacceptable.  Yes we all know Kobe is going to get his, but the Lakers won two in a row and played in the 3 prior NBA Finals because of the addition of Gasol.  The Lakers had no legit 2nd scoring option and they could have gone to Andrew Bynum more, but they chose not to.

Finally, I hate to ask this question, but Is Kobe Bryant slowing down a tad bit or did he just lose his trust in his teammates?  Yes, we all know that he isn’t the athlete that he was in the early 2000’s, and he has reformed his game as Michael Jordan did when he lost his ability to drive and jump over everyone ,by resorting to posting up and using his mid-range game to score.  There were plenty of situations in the series against the Mavs that Kobe blatantly looked off open teammates to take tough shots contested by two or more defenders. It also didn’t help that the Lakers bench, besides Lamar Odom, was a non-factor throughout the playoffs.

In my eyes, there are a few things the Lakers could do to fix this team and be right back in the Finals:

1.  Trade for Dwight Howard. The Orlando Magic are worried that they will lose Howard after the 2011-12 season (if there is one) for nothing to free agency.  The Lakers have what no other NBA team has, a legit, talented young center in Andrew Bynum, who’s 25 years old and has yet to reach his full potential.  Howard would give the Lakers a legit superstar center that would take the pressure off of Kobe and is the best defensive player in the NBA.

2.  They must find replacements for Derek Fisher and Ron Artest.  Fisher has been a nice pro and the perfect role player on some championship teams, but it’s time for him to retire.  He can’t keep anyone in front of him anymore and he never was a playmaker at the point.  Ron Artest’s better days have passed him and the little bit of athletic ability that he had and used to help him be one of the league’s most versatile and best defenders is gone.  It might be hard to move Artest and his remaining 3 years on his deal at $7 Million per, and if you do find his replacement, I can’t see Artest coming off the bench.  He’s going to be tough to replace.

3.  Retool the bench.  Lamar Odom was the NBA’s “Sixth Man of the Year”, but besides him and maybe Shannon Brown from here to there, who else made an impact off the bench?  Steve Blake and Matt Barnes were brought in to be glue guys and provide spark off the bench, but they were ineffective when it counted.  The Lakers could also use a backup center off the bench to rebound, defend, and block a few shots.

 

Is Phil really leaving?

4.  Finally, with Phil Jackson’s great career coming to an end, the Lakers are going to need a new coach, one with some creditability, past success, and a no-nonsense attitude.  Coming in to coach a veteran team who has had success and won titles before you have gotten there is a tough job.  Establishing respect, foundation, and your own system is key to winning the team over and being successful.  Kobe Bryant has openly endorsed Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw as the next Lakers head coach.

I know getting swept is a bad thing and it looked real bad.  Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom taking cheap shots in the fourth quarter down by almost 30 points made the loss even worse.  But if the Lakers’ front office doesn’t remain complacent and make the right moves, the Lakers can and will be back in the fold as a title contender.

Brandon Pemberton, Blogger for War Room Sports

The Pau Gasol Trade: “How Ya Like Them Now?”

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

The "Brothers Gasol" were traded for each other in February 2008.

I’ve been arguing for the better part of three years with uninformed NBA fans and so-called NBA “experts” who have continually excoriated the Memphis Grizzlies for the Pau Gasol trade.  If only people would have gazed beyond the surface and actually made an attempt to understand the BUSINESS of NBA basketball, they would have realized that the move had the potential from the start to become a success DOWN THE LINE for the franchise that SUPPOSEDLY “handed the Lakers Pau Gasol” for nothing in return.

The original principles of the trade consisted of Memphis sending Pau Gasol and a second round draft pick (2010) to L.A. for the draft rights to his brother, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittendon, Kwame Brown and his expiring contract, the contract of retired guard Aaron McKie, and TWO first round draft picks (2008 & 2010).

NBA trades are VERY RARELY about swapping equal talent.  Cap space is gold in the free agent era and when teams are attempting to climb out of the league basement, that pot of gold, along with some draft luck, is what is required to help them accomplish that feat.  So essentially, the Grizzlies swapped their best player for gold and in the 3 subsequent years following the trade, they have gotten progressively better.

I’ve always sensed that much of the disdain for this trade is rooted in many people’s even greater disdain for the Lakers organization and its superstar guard Kobe Bryant.  The fact that the trade provided Kobe and the Lakers with its final piece to yet another multiple championship puzzle has never sat well with many.  However, what the “many” SHOULD HAVE and must now realize is that the Memphis Grizzlies were only concerned with making THEIR team viable in the years to come, and not with pacifying “Laker Haters Nation” with the satisfaction of opportunities to further slight the greatness of that organization and the greatness of Kobe Bryant.  Now I’m sure that those reading this who are members of the aforementioned “nation” will call me “Laker-Lover”, “Kobe-Lover”, etc, but to those who think that objective praise cannot be heaped on organizations and players deserving of it, you can make a trip to the nearest interstate and go play in traffic.  If there are any doubts to my readers, I couldn’t care less about the Lakers organization and any other team outside of Philadelphia.  I’ve been a Sixers FAN-ATIC for 33 years and will be a die-hard until I DIE hard.  But I do know how to “call a spade a spade”, and if your hatred for a great player who plays for a great organization is rooted in ANYTHING besides weak, personal feelings of jealousy, you’re not being honest with yourself. 

And for the conspiracy theorists who constantly repeat the idiotic theory that Jerry West gave the Lakers Pau to help his former organization win a championship, go do some homework so that you will come to the realization that Jerry West vacated his post with the Grizzlies following the season PRIOR to this deal.  Chris Wallace was the Grizzlies GM who made this trade happen and now is the GM enjoying the fruits of his labor with an ever-improving team, because of an unpopular move he wasn’t afraid to make.

The acquisition of and ability to pay most of these guys is due to the Pau Gasol trade

Many only chose to view the trade on the surface level because they saw it as the Memphis Grizzlies handing the Lakers more championships.  Did anyone ever stop to realize that it was not the Grizzlies’ fault that the team with the best deal for them was a piece or two away from a championship?  If an opportunity to brighten the future of your 13-win franchise presented itself, the state of a championship contender offering you cap freedom should not even have crept into their pattern of thinking.  Their ONLY obligation was to look out for the best interest of the Memphis Grizzlies.  And I’d love for someone to remind me of the success they had with Pau as their best player.  I’d also love for someone to tell me why this trade shouldn’t have been made, without starting your argument off with what it did for the Lakers.

In the long term, this trade netted the Grizzlies Marc Gasol, a tough big man who is a very good rebounder and defender, with a very good offensive skill set in addition to his presence in the paint.  Marc Gasol is a career 12.6 points per game scorer and 7.8 per game rebounder, who in 09-10, averaged career highs of 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds.  Javaris Crittendon was traded to the Washington Wizards for yet ANOTHER conditional first round pick.  Kwame Brown and Aaron Mckie’s expired contracts (approximately $10 million of cap space) have allowed them to draft, trade for, and pay players, most notably Zach Randolph, a perennial 20 & 10 producer and 2010 All-Star with the Memphis Grizzlies.  They ended the 09-10 season $8.8 Million under the salary cap and subsequently locked up their two best players, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, to 5-year, $80 Million and a 4-year, $71 Million deals respectively.  The two first round draft picks acquired from L.A. turned into steady contributors Darrell Arthur and Greivis Vasquez.  The Grizzlies selected Syracuse’s Donte Green with the 28th overall pick (from Lakers) of the 2008 NBA draft and traded his draft rights for the rights to Arthur (the 27th overall pick).  In the 2010 NBA draft, they selected Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez with the 28th pick acquired from the Lakers. 

The New & Improved Memphis Grizzlies

The most ironic part of this whole situation is that the most outspoken NBA detractor of the trade was San Antonio Spurs’ coach Greg Poppovich, who said at the time: “What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension.  There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense.  I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees all NBA trades.  I would have voted “NO” to the L.A. trade.”  Well, Coach “Pop’s” #1 seeded Spurs were recently the first invitees to the coming out party of the new and improved Memphis Grizzlies.  Watch what you put out into the universe Coach.  To be fair to Coach “Pop” however, he did back down off that sentiment publicly.  Last year, he acknowledged that the trade did indeed provide Memphis with salary-cap relief and with the emergence of Marc Gasol, was a very sensible deal. 

As I explained earlier, their steady improvement isn’t COMPLETELY due to this one deal, but this trade ABSOLUTELY was the trigger to this team getting on the right track.  It was a calculated risk that has certainly begun to pay off.  Had they not taken this risk, they’d be the same 13-win Grizzlies team they were with Pau Gasol at the helm.  So the only question left to ask…“How ya like them now?”

Devin “Dev” McMillan of The War Room, for War Room Sports

Not everyone dislikes the NBA trend of “Superteaming”

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011