Can we finally put to rest that the Gasol/Brown trade was 1 sided

Of course he's going to say that. What else is he going to say?

 

Yes that was put to rest as soon as Gasol came over and as soon as they used the acquired capspace to land Randolph.

Both teams came out winners in that deal.

 

Imagine Memphis are still with Pau, no Marc and Z-Bo.
They'd still be a lottery team never won any playoff game.

 

You can't say it was a fair trade just because their picks happened to pan out great.

 

It's a winning trade for Memphis as they were going nowhere with Pau.
And if they are with Pau today, they remain a lottery team.

 

One team instantly became the league's powerhouse and made three straight NBA Finals. The other team was able to win a first round series... more than three years later.

 

You should also highlight that the Grizzlies are built around Randolph, a player who has been considered a knucklehead for the majority of his career.

 

A fair point as well. He's pushing 30 now but if they can get 3-4 more years out of him with the current core they have now, they'll be in good shape to start contending annually.

 

Are you sure? Really?

Isn't clearing cap space and pushing out the horizon of opportunity pretty much what all Lottery-bound NBA teams do?

Therefore IMHO, it's safe to conclude that ALL struggling NBA teams hit the "re-start" button. That includes cap space, future picks and even firing a coach.

If you don't believe that the results of that "re-start" speak for themselves...I have no earthly idea what would constitute a fair evaluation of starting over.

 

I think what a lot of people remember as the unfair part was that that trade would NEVER have happened if not for Jerry West.

 

This ^^^^

 

Why do Lakers fans get defensive about pulling off steal of a trade? Rockets fans rejoice when Morey pulls off these things. Point is not that Pau should not have been traded, but what he was traded for: rights to second rounder and two late first round picks. Memphis is lucky that fatty fat man Marc actually lost weight and became good center. That redeemed horrible trade somewhat.

 

The Grizzlies traded for cap space, prospects and picks. You don't trade for those kind of assets and end up good the next yr. Three years to rebuild based on that trade is actually pretty impressive. It is just ridiculous at this point to look back and say the Grizzlies got robbed based on what they ended up with.

 

Sure it looks "less" one sided now that one of those pieces has turned into something (and pau is starting to age badly)... but lets not confuse things too much.

One team went from borderline playoffs to DYNASTY with that trade, and they are currently looking to three-peat.

The other team spent 3 more years in the lottery, just won its first playoff series ever, but still is nowhere close to winning a championship.

It was still a trade that dramatically shifted the balance in favor of ONE team... the one with multiple rings that would not be there if not for Pau.

 

So the Grizz couldn't have done better than capspace, two garbage picks and a player like Gasol? Other teams could not have topped that offer?

That's where the BS comes in. A better guage for value is what Utah got for D-Will, or even Sota for an older KG. Even Ray Allen alone went for a top 5 pick.

 

Trust me, I would rather have Marc Gasol over most NBA players right now.

Grizzlies fans love this deal and have loved it ever since Marc stepped foot in the grindhouse.

Marc will be better in his prime than Pau ever was in his, because Marc is tough and hard nosed player with skill.

 

I wonder if we could pull something like that with either Martin or Scola (before they get older and their stock drops), sure its gona look bad now and some people might say were never gona have another efficient player like martin or get the same value in return but,... we dont have a star player so why not?

 

Marc Gasol wasn't a pick, his rights were acquired in the deal. The Grizzlies clearly did their homework on this guy (I am pretty sure they had an eye on him for multiple years since they had his brother on their team. Marc even went to HS in Tennessee while Pau was a Grizzly).

And they used that capspace to acquire Randolph for pretty much free.

 

One team was #1 in the Western Conference when the deal was made, the other was constantly in the lottery and a franchise which had never won a playoff series.