That isn't the reasoning at all. The reason the Lakers would not trade Bynum and very well may not trade Gasol for a Lowry type player is because there is miles of difference in value to an NBA franchise between quality point guards and quality power forwards and centers. The rule of thumb has almost always been that you never trade high quality "bigs" for high quality "smalls" unless you're getting more assets in return. There have been exceptions but they are few and far between. It just isn't done because point guards don't win championships. Give me Dwight Howard and an average to below average team and I'll not only make the playoffs, I'll even seriously contend for the conference championship. Give me Chris Paul and I might make the playoffs but I'll exit the first round. Morey knows his franchise isn't going anywhere as long as Lowry is his best player.
This is a radical idea, but it is pretty obvious the Lakers are trying to reload for the next few seasons. I kind of want to just not help them with what seems like the only elite PG available in Lowry and let them start over. Kobe will be pissed he can't contend with the aging squad and seeing LA in turmoil is worth it. Suggestion: Do not deal for the aging PF who cannot be the main guy. If you really need to get rid of Kmart, trade him to Minnesota for Beasley or Williams which would essentially help Minny, but would give us a decent player in return. I honestly don't think we will make a splash and many people will be upset that we helped LA or that we are going to lose in the first round
It's amazing what we got lowry for. 2 years ago we would've traded lowry for pau without thinking twice. As a matter a fact we woulldve even paid lowrys salary just to get pau in here. Let's not forget too what we got scola for. Morey may not have landed the big fish but the guy knows what he's doing
The main problem with all these Pau trades is you make the Lakers into a powerhouse. Right now, I think they're 'on the ropes'... between paying Kobe, Bynum and Pau - and MWP and Walton, they have glaring holes they cany afford to fill. Theyre still a good team - but not unbeatable... If you let them move Pau, they have space to make moves for D12 or DWill. Yes, it may upgrade our team, but to what ends? Do we really wanna play the Huston Oilers to the Laker's Pittsburg Steelers for the next decade?
At the D-League All-Star game... Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA Mitch Kupchak and Daryl Morey are sitting next to each other. "OMG Pau Gasol trade!" tweets are about to fill my timeline.
You're not going to stop the Lakers from upgrading. The best we can do is to upgrade ourselves by: 1. going for a Dwight/Dwill combination or 2. If we can't get Dwight then upgrade substantially on the cheap by facilitating a trade or 3. Continuing to upgrade the different positions on our team through trades for youngsters with substantial potential.
You can't manage and maximize your own team if you're too busy worrying about whether or not the deals you make or don't make are going to help your competition too much. Ideally swapping assets ought to be constructed with an eye towards a WIN / WIN outcome as opposed to somebody getting jobbed in the deal. The fact that the Lakers might improve as a result of the deal is neither here nor there if you're the Rockets. The question is will the Rockets be improved as a result.
Jo, Realistically, are you seriously of the belief that there is a path that leads to Howard and Williams landing in Houston? I guess there is no harm in dreaming, but to me it's just so far beyond the realm of possibilities, that it seems as if someone needs to make friends with reality.
If the Lakers are not willing to give up both Pau and Bynum (I think they will) and if the Clippers aren't willing to give up both Griffin and Deandre (I don't think they will), then you tell me, who else can offer up a better deal than we can for Dwight????
The Lakers need a high quality point guard to convince Howard that LA is the right move for him and then they can send Bynum to Orlando to culminate the deal. At the end of the day it pretty much comes down to trading Gasol for either Lowry or Rondo. Either one of them would fit the bill nicely from the Lakers perspective and in turn, Gasol would bring good value to those teams.
Yes, the Lakers continue to say they won't give up Pau and Bynum for Howard and I believe them. If they did, they'd have nothing left to persuade Howard that he should remain in LA because the Lakers would have a heavy resemblance to what Orlando looks like today, except for Kobe who won't be there much longer. But that aside.... Neither Howard nor Williams have to my knowledge at least, expressed even so much as a modicum of interest in coming to Houston. Isn't it kind of far fetched to imagine that the only hurdle Houston has to get over is to convince Orlando that they (Houston) have the best trade package for Howard to begin with? BTW, I don't think they do have the right package. I'm pretty certain that Orlando wants an All Star center to build around like the one they're losing and they will be quite content to take Bynum and a half dozen or so draft picks which the Lakers have sitting in reserve.
they are probably friends after having spent the whole summer talking to each other almost everyday (in the vetoed trade)
If the Lakers are not willing to give up both Pau and Bynum (I think they will) and if the Clippers aren't willing to give up both Griffin and Deandre (I don't think they will), then you tell me, who else can offer up a better deal than we can for Dwight????
Ahaaaaa! Otis and Devos the key to a trade for Dwight. Not Dwight. Not Dwill. Not Pau. Not Mitch. OTIS and Rich! It's up to them! Don't forget that.
totally disagree... not helping the competition is the whole reason why teams are more prone to trading a valuable player outside their division or even conference... I'm not saying you shouldnt trade within your division... but you've gotta look at the big picture.... I'd rather deal with a Minnesota or Utah, rather than help the Lakers improve...
They're not going to trade him somewhere he doesn't intend to stay. Otherwise they wouldn't have bothered to solicit from him the destinations where he would agree to go. Sheeesh!
And I didn't say that there aren't certain teams that other teams refrain in large part from transacting with. I'm suggesting that the first order of business is to decide what is required to help your team. Independent of anything else. Not some defensive strategy that says how can I prevent the competition from reaching their objectives.
