If they didn't solve one of the larger problems they hoped to solve, then they took a very short sighted view. My understanding, and maybe I misunderstood, is that the owners sought to curb this stuff.
Pau / Nene would've made the Rockets better. But I don't think getting better is a good result when a team that is leaps and bounds better than you already, is about to get even better.
What team is that? Certainly not the Lakers. Does Bynum strike fear in your heart? Paul and Kobe? I am not impressed at all by the Lakers roster minus Pau and Odom.
This would really sux if this deal still goes through, but Nene was already signed by the Nug.......Combo of Nene and Gasol will help bring some good free agents (maybe not superstar level of Howard or Dwill or Paul) as they are a few pieces from being a very good team ala Detroit Pistons I hope we do not settle for DalembSUX......
I think the Lakers would be substantially worse this season, as did John Hollinger and most others. I don't think it's even debatable really. Now, it might help their long-term position to have a younger star like Paul to sell future free agents. But this season, the Lakers would have been much worse.
If Dwight is going to New Jersey tonight I believe Stern will let Lakers to grab CP3 but because of Dwights transaction to Nets, Lakers will give Bynum instead of Gasol to Hornets so I dont think we'll end up with Pau again.
paugasol Pau Gasol Good night everyone! It's been a crazy day but as always I'm going to be & stay positive. Thanks everyone for your appreciation and support. http://twitter.com/#!/paugasol
Substantially worse than getting knocked out of the 2nd round? I just can't see that team being bad. And you're right that it sets them up to give them the alpha dog to build their next championship team around. Again, I just don't know why the Rockets would want to facilitate that.
They're better in terms of the amount of "shiny objects" to quote John Hollinger. Better on the court? Not so sure. They would have no front court depth, relying heavily on the injury-prone Andrew Bynum. Artest would have an even bigger role and we all know he's on the decline. I'm not so sure Kobe and CP3 could coexist in a positive way. I'm not sure they'll run the triangle, but, if they do, CP3 is not a triangle pg. If they run a lot of pick and roll with Paul, Kobe's not really a standstill spot-up shooter. I'm sure they'll be good, I'm just not so sure they'll be that much better.
Maybe I misread, but from all the reports, tweets etc, it seems the Lakers getting Howard was as much a possibility as the Rockets getting Nene.
I'm hearing in Spain that Stern will finally allow the trade to happen. Medium-reliability sources...
Would they really get better? Look at LA's roster without Gasol and Odom. They don't have Shannon Brown anymore. You have three dominate players, yes. But, having Odom, Gasol, Bynum on the court at the same time was one of the main reasons Lakers were such match-up problems. Talent-wise they get better. But, consider the fact that there will be back-to-back-to-back games. 5 games in 7 nights. That's brutal for three players who all have a history of knee injuries. Bynum will play 50% of the season. How good is JUST cp3 and Kobe? We'll have to see.
I don't think the second-round exit is indicative of the Lakers' talent level. I think most had them pegged as the top team in the West, as did I. Random things happen, but this is still the nucleus of the team that's won the West 3 of the past 4 years. Gasol is a 20-10 big man, and his PER was almost identical to Paul's last season (both ridiculously high). Consider fact that you're also throwing in Lamar Odom and his versatility, as well as Paul's bad knees and an increased reliance on injury-prone Bynum... it's not a good deal for them on the court. Unless it leads directly to Howard or something else.
My cousin from Barcelona would love coming here to Houston to see Pau play. That partially why I want the trade to get done. I think Pau and Nene could bring a real excitement to this city we haven't seen since we traded for Artest!
Absolutely...take Martin away and this team is going to have serious problem scoring. gasol and nene got game but you can't win without a perimeter game unless you have Dwight Howard. We will be great defensively with Hayes - nene - gasol - lee - Lowry. But also one of the worst scoring teams in the league. Add. New coach and the fact that gasol walks in really unhappy and we could conceivably start the season off 2 and 8...in a short season that is a recipe for a lotto pick!
Yep, he is in an impossible or highly unlikely position of building a contender without getting a star through the draft. Not sure that has ever happened. DD
That is a shortsided view. Players will want to be on that team. The Lakers got a big trade exception on that trade. So they could sign guys like let`s say Shane Battier for the cheap and somehow they might`ve been able to get Howard in there as well (Bynum, trade exception, Artest and picks). If this trade came through, the Lakers weren`t done. The Lakers were setting up their future. Paul for the next 7 years, Bryant for the next 4 years - and either Bynum or Howard and some other nice FA... it would`ve been a lateral move for the Lakers for this season (if nothing else happened) but a great move for the Lakers for the future. And the lack of a future was the reason, why this trade was not a good deal for the Hornets (long contracts, lots of money, old players) - and imho not a good deal for the Rockets (short time window for success, no backup plan for the future).
