Gasol>Scola and martin. Scola and Lowry>Gasol Trade will not happen with rockets.......both GM's know whats up.
This. It's unbelievable how idealist most of this board is. It's almost as if some of you are expecting a superstar, bonafide No. 1 option to fall out of the sky and land in Daryl Morey's lap. All at an ideal contract, too. Doesn't work that way. Gasol won't win you a title by himself. He's not a superstar. But starting Pau Gasol and Courtney Lee (at PF and SG) is a significant upgrade to Luis Scola and Kevin Martin. As a result, if a Martin/Scola for Gasol swap is possible, Morey will do it in a heartbeat. The Rockets are behind the eight ball given a lack of stars and high draft picks, so Morey needs to take any talent upgrade he can and worry about the rest later. I also don't understand the complaints about Gasol's contract. Psst, guys: we wouldn't be giving away any cap flexibility if Martin and Scola are the pieces dealt. In case you forgot, each have guaranteed contracts beyond this season and make a combined $21.5 million. The Rockets would actually be likely to improve their cap situation with such a trade.
Watching Scola defend makes me sad. Yes to Pau Gasol as long as Kyle Lowry isn't in te deal. Pipe dream trade would be Scola/martin/flynn but the realistc deal would be Dragic instead of Flynn of course. Gasol and Dalembert will give us much needed length. Plus it would meab a defensive SG in Lee would start for us and yes, he can knock down J's too. Lowry Lee Parsons Gasol Dalembert Me likey! A defensive 5 that is deadly on offense as well. Anddin't ever think Morey would be content with this lineup. Gasol would just be an appetizer to improving this team's overall talent.
This is what is the most annoying about the people complaining about Pau's contract. It's simple math, really. This year Kevin Martin ($12,019,840) plus Luis Scola ($8,591,793) = $20,611,633. Pau Gasol = $18,714,150. $20,611,633-$18,714,150 = $1,897,483. Not to mention Courtney Lee could finally start.
I see this line thrown out a lot, and it's gotten beyond ridiculous. Pau averages more points, more rebounds, and more assists than Marc, all on a higher shooting percentage, free throw percentage, PER, etc. Marc averages one more block per game, but Pau is the better player in essentially every other category, and it's not even debatable. http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3206/marc-gasol http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/996/pau-gasol
Funny how everyone wants Daryl to make a move, but every time a rumor like this comes up people here freak & say that our players are the greatest. So you basically want everything but want to give up nothing? I'm not in favor of trading Lowry, but if it's a Scola/Martin/Flynn or Dragic for Pau type deal, sign me the hell up.
Yeah people forget that he was unquestionably the reason why the Lakers have won multiple titles in recent years. Kobe is Kobe, but they wouldnt have rings without Gasol.
Didn't he already state that he has no interest in playing in Houston? Does that not factor at all in to any decision that's made?
I think that was taken out of context. Honestly, who would want to leave Los Angeles, playing for one of the most popular sports franchises in the world? I seriously doubt Pau would hold out and mail it in if he gets trades. He knows it's a business.
Well, Pau never said anything. That's definitely worth clarifying. There was an anonymous source-fed report from Ric Bucher that Gasol wasn't enthused. That said, frankly, I'd be concerned about Pau Gasol if he were enthusiastic about the trade. In his four years in LA, he's won two NBA titles and three Western Conference titles. He lives in in a mecca of Spanish culture (for the US) and plays for the most prestigious basketball organization in sports (alongside one of the all-time greats in Kobe). On the other hand, the Rockets haven't made the playoffs in three years and don't have a single "name" player. Why on earth would he be excited? If Gasol comes out and publicly denounces Houston, that could be a problem. Otherwise, it's a complete non-issue. Players get traded every year to destinations that they're not crazy about. The vast majority are professionals and get over it, as I'm fairly certain Gasol would. It's not worth worrying about.
He was talking to the LA media. Of course thats the right thing to say... whats he supposed to say... "damn, Im back here in LA, I was so excited to be in Houston.".... He'd be fine here in Houston.
Eggs-ack-tly. I'm not in love with Gasol's contract, but move him from under Kobe's shadow and he's a heck of a player: scores, blocks shots, passes. An intelligent player. In the meantime, Scola and Martin have their occasional good games but they're often like the scene from "Master and Commander", where the mast splits from the ship in a storm and acts as a sea anchor that threatens to sink them until it is cut loose. Seriously, who put all the fried foods in Scola's diet lately? His lack of athleticism has been killing us. Not that he doesn't have his good points. But if we were to solidify ANY spot on the floor, it should be the 4 or 5.
Thats fine for THIS year - since we have CLee on the lowball contract.... but next year CLee is gonna be makin 6-7M... as for THIS year, instead of Kmart/Clee at SG, u got CLee/Bud... Does having Kmart at SG over Bud offset the 1.5 pts/4 boards that Pau is getting over Scola this year? I think so. Additionally, Pau's numbers are with the benefit of having Kobe drawing doubleteams in LA - what makes anyone think he's gonna have the same poduction here? 18.7/yr... and the amount (and his age) will just keep going up.... As for acquiring Pau as a piece for another trade... helluva gamble, you better hope Pau's production doesnt diminish... but why would it? He'd jus be in a new city, with a totally new team with no superstar drawing double teams anymore, gettin older by the day...
Unquestionably. Really? did you forget the other big man that plays for the Lakers. Did you forget the Lakers won so many games due to their unmatched front court. Come on man! Gasol is a good player but let's not cash in all our chips with this guy.
I'd rather keep Scola to help mentor Donuts. Motiejunas mentioned how Scola was his idol and wanted to learn his moves from him. Look at the GSW game last night. Patterson's post moves were definately influenced by Scola.
The Lakers entered 2007-08 off back-to-back first round losses, with Kobe demanding a trade and a good-but-not-great roster. That continued until the Gasol trade, with a 28-16 mark (63.6% winning) prior to the deal. They went 29-9 (76.3% winning) after and won the Western Conference. As far as the "other big man", Bynum played in a whopping 35 games - and then 0 in the playoffs - during that initial 2007-08 season. In the '08-'09 season (the first LA title of this era), injuries limited Bynum to 17 minutes per game in the playoffs, with an average of 6 points/game and under 4 rebounds on only 45% shooting. Even in the second Lakers' title run, Bynum averaged under 9 points per game and 24 minutes. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bynuman01.html Meanwhile, Gasol played in every playoff game during those three years with PERs of 21.9 and 24.0 in the championship seasons. Yes, I think it's safe to say that the Lakers unquestionably would not have won those titles without Pau Gasol.
I cant believe 65% of the board wants us to invest in a guy that two years from now is gonna be 33 years old and represent a THIRD of our cap on his existing contract.... and for those that think he's gonna be the linchpin to some trade (for D12 or whoever) - what GM is gonna make that move - given my first statement? Yeh, after having Turkoglu's 11M/yr contract hanging around their neck, the Magic are really gonna want Gasols 18.7M/yr... c'mon...