You know what I do know? The Lakers weren't able to do crap with arguably 3 of the Top 20 players in the NBA. You know what else I do know? There are much better options than throwing a third of your salary cap at a player that isn't getting any better, which ultimately forces you to switch to a win-now policy that is hardly realistic or plausible given the franchise's recent track record at attracting stars. I actually like the LaMarcus Aldridge idea as proposed earlier by one of the earlier posters and I think it makes far more sense than going after Gasol. The Trailblazers, like the Rockets, are also in a similar situation where they aren't anywhere near a state of contention and there have been rumors that Paul Allen has been trying to unload the team. If Allen is trying to unload some contracts, I think the Rockets should do themselves a favor and make a call to see if Aldridge is available. That team is due for a re-boot and adding a piece like Aldridge give the Rockets a chance to be competitive in the near term while also giving us the necessary foundation moving forward to be compete for a title maybe 3 or 4 years down the line.
Because the team is not going to do the right thing and go young, so they might as well try to be a playoff team. Morey and Les want to win....we are ****ED by that, so we might as well roll the dice and hope for the best. Neither Scola or lowry is important on this team if you have Pau, the Rockets have a better PG in Dragic and Pau is a better PF than Luis. DD
Yeah, that was a joke about Chris Mullin getting the Blazers job and giving us LMA. I’m pretty sure he’s not even getting the job after publicly saying Pau = Love. Still, just because we can’t get a young All-Star in his prime, doesn’t mean we need to trade Lowry/picks for an old, past his prime Gasol. I’d much rather trade Lowry/other assets for a young player that hasn’t broken out yet, or a good draft pick. Pau’s best days are behind him and he and his bloated contract aren’t taking us anywhere.
I'm not drinking any koolaid. I'm well aware of the fact that it's and hypothetical situation. We've chased every single superstar you can name and come up empty-handed, to suggest that LMA has crossed Morey's mind isn;t out of the realm of possibility. jtr, I think you need to calm down. I'm pretty sure you aren't the only one on this board with "basketball knowledge". Your condescending attitude and your belief that everyone else on this board knows jack squat about basketball is rather ignorant. Then again, ignorance is bliss am I right?
Coolio I work hard to acquire the knowledge I possess. I may be passionate about those topics but I don't discuss subjects I have not researched. If I don't have a reasonable understanding of the issues involved in the conversation my replies go something like this: Generally indisputable claim; A question; An admitted speculation; A personnel opinion. An example of 1 form of this is posted on the Sloan return to coaching thread. I take your criticism seriously. It is late here and I will be going to bed soon. And I will contemplate your observations and I may decide that they are valid. Anyway peace bro. I take your observations seriously because you are a serious person and not some flake - which you have to admit troll this site regularly. Good luck to you and yours!
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/la_lakers.htm Im sorry, but Gasol's salary is just too much. 38+ million over the next two years? It just seems incredibly obvious this guy aint worth that. Only a player that by himself makes you an instant contender is worth that kind of dough. Not to mention he will be 32 this summer. If he were making $20-24M over the next two, maybe.
More(of the same) from Broussard on the 'Thundering Herd' yesterday -Lakers start with Pau Gasol. They did trade him at the beginning of the season and the NBA stood in the way of that. They'll look to move him. Jim Buss, who is running the franchise now, loves Bynum. I'm not saying he won't eventually succumb and trade him for Dwight but that won't be the first move they look to make. They'll look to get more athletic by trading Gasol. There are a couple of things they can look at. They can look at ATL. They like Gasol and can use his post presence. Josh Smith would love a fresh start somewhere else. He's in the last year of his deal. Houston wants Pau Gasol. They refused to give up Kyle Lowry around the trade deadline but now that Goran Dragic has emerged, they could afford to move Lowry and say Luis Scola to bring in Gasol. That's another option the Lakers may have. There will be several teams they talk to about Gasol. -Can't say it's absolutely a no that they would trade him because Dwight is the guy out there but I believe Jim Buss at this point would rather keep Bynum than trade him. He did close the gap significantly between him and Dwight. Still not as good but he showed he can dominate games. He has to be more consistent and more mature but I believe Jim Buss is definitely in his corner. -Still a possibility Dwight re-signs depending on what they do in the FO, the coach and if they make any moves in terms of players. Right now, Dwight would like to be traded. His preference is to be traded to Brooklyn with the Nets. It's not written in stone. This is fluid with Dwight. He asked to be traded in December(who btw, never rescinded that request) and then opts in at the deadline. Its fluid with Dwight. Still a possibility and still open to playing in Orlando but his number one option is Brooklyn with Deron Williams.
I just saw something on here about going after LaMarcus Aldridge instead of Gasol..... wow... na na na...naaoot gonna happen. Dream on. Aldridge is untoucheable, and young enough for Portland to consider him their major piece they are going to build around. Whats the point of trading LaMarcus Aldridge for "potentially" the future ... Well LaMarcus Aldridge.
For the Lakers, they are sort in a hard spot. They need get more depth in their roster (Houston would be good trading partner in that, yet they need to get younger and more athletic (Atlanta, Philly, Toronto, teams with quality young players and even a good draft pick or two). If the Lakers are able to get Josh Smith with maybe Marvin Williams (or a draft pick), that's an enticing deal. Philly has some nice pieces, as well especially with their pick.
My observation is that the Hawks have 6 players under contract next year for $61 million. They may be looking to dump salary, not add to it.
And the Lakers have what - $80 million (?) under contract next season. They may also be looking for a salary dump. Salary cap may be getting much more important as we edge towards the massive luxury tax penalties starting in 2014/2015.
Nobody said we were chasing after LaMarcus Aldridge. We were just pointing out how going after a player like LMA makes far more sense than going after Gasol
