All points are true. Pau is overpaid and I don't want him though I never said he sucks. He plays ok for someone if they made around 7million. 19+ though? No thanks. And over 32? strike 2. My last straw arguement was Lakers don't trade gems especially in a short window. Still true I've never wanted Pau - even last year. He's not a guy you build around and we were still looking for a foundation piece. He was a Robin back then, now he's a Robin's Robin and falling fast. But I've been consistant just maybe not in the same thread. It's hard to keep track of the Pau threads which seem to pop up ever other month.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-121203/nba-los-angeles-lakers-issues "Should the Lakers try to trade Gasol?" Gutierrez: Sure seems like it, especially given the urgency of the Lakers' season. What would be ideal is a stretch-4 in return, one with some athleticism to boot. Chandler Parsons, anyone? He plays some defense, too. Probably would have to take back Jeremy Lin as well, though." This guy must be an idiot, he thinks that a trade of Parsons and Lin for Gasol could happen, and that Lin would be a cap relief move for the Rockets, and that the Lakers would be reluctant to take him on (from my impression of what he's saying). Wow.
Well, i think the Lakers would be reluctant to take him too. They wouldn't want to pay 8 mil+huge taxes for a backup PG, unless he can really shoot.
And that deal would be Pau Gasol. There's literally no one else. This is the last season of the old tax. So even a team like the Lakers could bear and grin it for one more time. http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/index.jsp
I swear these ESPN people don't know jack ****. Parsons and Lin for Pau? thats almost as bad as some of the trade proposals on this site.
Would "have to take back Lin"? Lol. Some of these "national" writers have no clue about teams other than the "big market" ones.
I wouldn't trade Parsons for Gasol straight up. How about Aldrich for Gasol and the Lakers pay the balance of his salary. Houston might have to take on Steve Blake though. see what I did there ESPN Hackjob writer? I can make bad deals for the lakers too
There is no way in hell Morey will ruin our cap flexibility to acquire Gasol. It goes against everything Morey has been trying to do, get young, get more cap flexible, and get an all-star. Pau fits none of these categories.
I do think Pau could be revitalized on a young team. I might give up Patrick Patterson for Pau Gasol, but that's about it.
Here's what I am thinking might work if Morey wants Gasol (which he may not), kind of a 2-step process to take advantage of the salary rules so that the Rockets can take on Gasol's salary without forcing Lakers to take back too many pieces: First, make Trade #1: To Toronto: Cole Aldrich To Houston: Andrea Bargnani Then immediately make trade #2 (Bargnani can be packaged in a trade because the Rockets are under the cap when they trade for him): HOU to Toronto: Marcus Morris, Daequan Cook HOU to LAL: Andrea Bargnani LAL to HOU: Pau Gasol TOR to HOU: Alan Anderson (Toronto would take on Marcus Morris salary and Daequan Cook's salary with a part of a $7.6M trade exception generated from the Aldrich/Bargnani trade. It should be all kosher cap wise.) So, the sum of these trades would be HOU trades Morris, Aldrich and Cook for Gasol and Anderson Toronto trades Bargnani and Anderson for Morris, Adrich and Cook Lakers trades Gasol for Bargnani (and generating a $9M trade exception). Toronto gets out from Bargnani's salary and gets a younger, cheaper spread 4 in Morris (who is also Lowry's Philly homeboy) and two expiring contracts. Lakers gets a more D'Antoni friendly PF, cut $9M/year from their payroll, and more in terms of tax. Maybe I am over-valuing Morris. If so, then add Jones or Motiejunas or Smith.. just laying out a salary structure that works. Basically, the idea is to involve a 3rd team, trade one or two guys on a rookie deal for someone making something like $8-12M (examples: Ryan Anderson, Paul Millsap, Bargnani, maybe Josh Smith), then flip that guy plus others for Gasol. This would allow the Rockets to take on Gasol's salary while giving up the least amount of $.
I'm amazed that I can write this with a straight face, particularly given the inexperience and youth of the Rockets, but it seems to me that Pau Gasol could potentially move this team into the upper echelon of the NBA; if not this year, next year for sure. I believe, based on his uninspired performance just before getting traded from Memphis, and his subsequent rise to elite status with the talented Lakers, that if motivated and with the right group of guys around him, he will get back to being a dominant force. I'll elaborate... With the Rockets, he basically improves all the deficiencies currently displayed from the PF position. Other than his mid-range, which is comparable to Patterson's, Gasol is clearly superior in all other facets of the game to anybody the Rockets could have at PF (and could realistically get in the market). Just last year he averaged 17 and 10, with almost 4 assists and 1.5 blocks a game. He gives the team a legit post player, which is a current weakness. But most importantly, he's skilled to finish all the pick and rolls the team is trying to run with Asik. I think that being the beneficiary of all the passes from Lin and Harden in pick and rolls will keep Gasol motivated. A motivated Gasol is an asset to any offense, but given the current makeup of this team, he will be invaluable to our many times porous defense, and would make him and Asik a formidable defensive front line. If Parsons continues to ball like Battier on steroids (or better yet, like a Lamar Odom!), he'll also be a great complement to Gasol. (Remember how successful those Memphis teams were when Gasol played with Battier?) I can understand having trepidation to trade for him, given his age and the questions surrounding his health. But if healthy (and motivation picks up...), he is absolutely worth the money and would be the perfect addition to this team. Also, his stock is ostensibly low enough to mean that the Rockets won't have to trade away a core piece to acquire him. Maryo, si puedes, hazlo.
Regardless of what the Rockets think of Lin, his contract runs for 3 years so it would hurt the Lakers plans for LeBron/Melo that they clearly seem to have. There's also huge tax, and I'm not so sure that D'Antoni would even play Lin big minutes with that roster, regardless of what happened in New York. So from the Lakers point of view, they probably would look at it as having to take back Lin and ask to get paid to do it.
I have faith in Morey to avoid Pau like the plague unless it's a Douglas for Gasol trade, even then...
pretty much, re motivation. There's no way, if you watch the Lakers, that you don't think there's a huge motivation/frustration issue right now. Whatever knee issues there are and however misused he is when next to Dwight, there's also a huge mental aspect to his struggles. D'Antoni clearly sat him down vs. the Magic because of it. Just watch his body language. There was an obvious change between the 1st half when he was having a great game and the end of the game when he utterly sucked on the offensive end. When he's frustrated he seems to lose his passing ability this year, for some reason. He starts forcing bad shots and passes. I wonder if he's not yet at a point where he hopes for a trade.
