Okay. Let me get this straight. You are claiming that 1. A player is not a center if he can beat the best teams in his conference playing center, simply because he lost in the finals 2. A player is not a center if he plays center and proceed to lose to a superior team(Boston was a better team than LA that year) By this logic, Hakeem was never a center until 94 because he kept losing to better teams while playing center.
You are aware that Andrew Bynum took over Center when Gasol was traded to LA??? Gasol never played Center in LA unless there was an injury or they were going small with Odom. He is to soft to be a center. I would be all for Gasol playing here as our starting PF but if you put him in a Center that is a big mistake.
Why do the Lakers consistently shift Gasol back to PF when Bynum comes back from his latest injury? Why has Buss consistently refused to trade Bynum in the past? Gasol is a PF who can play C when needed but certainly not ideal. Even the broadcast last night they quoted Pau saying he was worn down for the playoffs from playing so much C while Bynum was injured.
Gasol is not built like a center. By your logic, you are saying that Dirk Nowitzki should play center. A guy that has the athleticism and shot that Pau has does not play a center. Pau is not someone that can box out a D Howard or even Hayes.
I don't agree with that. Gasol has great size for a center, and he's a decent rebounder and rim protector for that position.
He does have great size and he is a good rebounder and he can protect the rim at times but he's a finesse player that's not physical enough to take the punishment for long stretches. As it's been said he can play spot minutes at the 5 but if your relying on him to play center for long stretches you're going to be screwed.
I am not saying he cannot play center. All I am saying is that he is best suited for a PF position with a legit Center behind him. If we had Dalembert at Center and he plays every game like he did Monday night and put Pau at PF that would be a superb front court. Though it is not likely to happen. If Morey wanted to make a splash for a big man, go after Howard. Pau is not going to solve anything.
Guess you couldn't see I was being sarcastic. You seem like you're just butt hurt about Martin possibly leaving the team even if it's for the better of the franchise. And All-stars wanna play with other STARS. Look at all those teams like MIA, BOS, LAL, LAC, NYK... You saying having a star means nothing is about the dumbest thing I heard on this board.
4-Team Blockbuster: Orlando sends: Dwight Howard gets: Luis Scola Kevin Martin Andrew Bynum Houston sends: Luis Scola Kevin Martin future 1st gets: Pau Gasol O.J. Mayo Los Angeles sends: Pau Gasol Andrew Bynum cash consideration gets: Dwight Howard Memphis sends: O.J. Mayo gets: Future 1st Cash consideration Rockets depth chart: Lowry/Dragic Lee/Mayo Budinger/Williams Gasol/Patterson TheHaitanSensation/Hill not bad
At this point, no thanks. Gasol is old, and its increasingly more evident in his game. A Gasol and Dalembert frontline could get us into the playoffs, but would never win ****. At best it gives a couple of years in the playoffs w/t out a true chance to ever win the championship. As for trading for Howard, that seems more worth it, but he could (and most likely will) leave us in free agency and be left with nothing to show for it. The rockets are better of trading Scola and Kmart for Picks and young players or TE's. The Rockets need to rebuilt from scratch, no point in continually building on a faulty foundation.
C'mon, Kobe has threatened to leave the Lakers repeatedly. He was about to bolt across town to the Clips a few years ago, until the Lakers gave him a better offer AND promised him they'd do everything they could to bring in better players.
Yah I dont agree with that...He is being shifted around when Bynum comes back because the lakers have the luxury of 2 7 footers and bynum couldnt play PF if his life depended on it. Gasol can play PF as 1 of the top couple of PF in the games and He plays a center as the a top 5 center in the game... He is a decent on the ball defender at either position great team defender at both...and top notch offensive threat at either.... I dont get your argument at all....
So did Olajuwon, MJ probably as well and now Dwight is forcing the Magic's hand. Nothing wrong with that. If he leaves it should be to a good team where they can build around him, not take the easy way to LA or fly to NY!
So you're saying elite players should only sign with bad teams that have no star players already? Yeah, that makes sense. Don't go where there are better opportunities to build your career and your livelihood -- go somewhere not as attractive and hope to miraculously put that team on the map. I'd be ALL OVER that if I were a top-level free agent.
I would love to reprise the Gasol to Houston trade, even as it was. I know we lost out on Nene and Hayes, but the trade would do three things that the Rockets desperately need: 1) Move Martin -- he is not trash as some people say, but he is not suited for McHale's offense, and is terrible defensively. It is time for him to move one, for him and us. 2)Get better defensively -- Martin and Scola are the two worst defenders on this team, and if you could give their minutes to Gasol and Lee, that would be an upgrade without losing much on offense. Plus, Gasol as the backup center (with PPat playing the 4) would be an upgrade their over Hill. 3) Decrease roster depth -- It is paradoxical that this is a benefit, but it is. Right now Houston has a lot of what I like to call "non-revenue generating assets": basically, players (assets) who, because of team depth, do not get to play ever and thus produce nothing for the team and just sit on the bench and wait for their contracts to expire. So, if we overpay for Gasol, no big deal, because we have a lot of assets that would then get a chance to produce and fill the roles left by what we had to move our to ORL.
My argument is that Pau Gasol is not a Center, and he is definitely not the type of guy you bring in here to start or build around at Center. I am all for bringing Gasol here to play PF. Getting rid of Scola, Martin, and whoever else to bring Gasol here to play Center will not make us any better than we are right now. However, if you bring Gasol here to play PF behind Dalembert.. then hell yea I would be ecstatic.
