[WEEI] Report: Lakers are committed to trading Pau Gasol

Debatable

 

They both have really nice hair though.

 

You are right. A low post presence who can regularly demand double teams opens up offenses. Especially good passing ones like Gasol.

 

well said.... Im on board w that thinking....

But the price has to be right

 

Finding a buyer at that price/contract and age will be tough.

 

Gasol is a still a very good defensive presence.

He has 'respect' from the officials, which allows him to hold his position/ push. He changes lots of shots just because he's massive and has a huge wingspan. I think his wingspan is 7'7 ?

Gasol would be awesome for our team. What he NEEDS is a couple of other scoring options, but his presence alone would transform us into a very competitive team (I'm assuming we give up either Lowry +Scola OR Scola/Bud +picks)

 

Maybe 10 years ago this would have been a winning strategy but now? I highly doubt it. The league appears to have moved on from this style of play what with the use of the zone defense and an over-reliance on the PnR offense. Even centers like Shaq, Parish or Jabbar would have serious issues playing this style today. We are watching the two best teams in the NBA right now and neither of them depend on a low post presence to open up their offense. OKC has Perkins - a pretty good low post player - and he's having trouble getting on the floor because Miami isn't playing a true center. Heck, Haslem was only on the floor for 11 minutes tonight and was all but invisible. Given the direction the league is headed I just don't see how going "retro" will be of much benefit to them as they chase the likes of OKC, Jazz, Clippers and others. In fact, the only way I could see this strategy working out for them would be if they had Hakeem in his prime manning the post because of his athleticism and superior footwork for a big man. While Gasol may be many things, he is definitely NOT in Hakeem's class.

 

We would stay mediocre

Has Gasol led team ever won anything

 

Please don't trade the future for a declining non-franchise player.

 

Not sure if you have been watching the finals, but the heat have controlled this series and the tempo through posting up and demanding double teams frm the thunder. The league hasn't moved away from the post, there's simply a dearth of post up talent in the league

 

I have to ask - are they moving away from the classical center because there is a better way to play, or is it because there are so few of them in the league?

I believe that if you look at the past 6 years, every team that has won a championship had a classical NBA center manning the 5.

2006 Dallas Mavericks 2–4 Miami Heat [82]
2007 San Antonio Spurs 4–0 Cleveland Cavaliers [83]
2008 Los Angeles Lakers 2–4 Boston Celtics [84]
2009 Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 Orlando Magic [85]
2010 Los Angeles Lakers 4–3 Boston Celtics [86]
2011 Dallas Mavericks 4–2 Miami Heat

Please note that TD is actually a center. The last couple of years the Spurs have owned up to it.

 

Finally, somebody else gets it. Finally.

 

My take is that the Heat has been relentlessly attacking the basket by slashing and driving hard to the hoop. It has been this continuous slashing and driving that has controlled the tempo in the past 3 games. Now Lebron as been posting up more and more but he uses his post ups to pass the ball out to an open perimeter shooter rather than play the classic post up style McHale favors. In fact, I believe that the major reason that OKC is looking up at a 3-1 deficit is because during the last 2 games, they failed to attack the hoop as much as the Heat and became a jump shooting team at the wrong times in these games.

 

Yeah, both team are attacking the basket. WB had 43 tonight attacking possession after possession. Nope, that's not the difference. The difference is Miami is bigger and stronger and can play with their back to the basket.

 

I think that the wing players today are simply so big and talented and so athletic that coaches naturally are making them the focus of their team offense. That plus the dearth of good skilled big men coming out of college is a primary reason why the league has no choice but to move away from the classical center. And the international players coming into the league definitely aren't coming from systems where big men learn to play with their backs to the basket so there you are. But I think another factor may also be at play here: the entertainment factor. The NBA wants to field an exciting and athletic and ESPN highlight ready product. Classic post up play slows down the game and is rather boring to watch. It simply does not fit into the marketing plan.

Yes, all of these teams had classical centers but you will note that none of those centers were the focus of their offense in the manner to which McHale advocates. Those offenses did not run through the post in the classic sense of the word but rather through the guards and forwards.

 

Very nice analysis dude. But I have had 1 to many beers to process it tonight. I will read it tomorrow.

 

Good points about Miami being bigger although I would argue that Miami's only real physical advantage lies with Lebron & Bosh. But I feel that the Finals results so far boil down to experience. OKC's youth is really showing here while Miami has been through this pressure cooker before, lost and has had to live with that humiliation given the actions of the Superfriends. That has fueled them to take their game to another level of intensity that OKC has yet to match as a team. OKC got here by being faster and more athletic than their opponent. They blew through the Spurs like a tornado but they haven't been able to do the same to the Heat because of the Heat's experience. When that has failed them, they simply don't know what to do and it shows. Well, a championship team knows that when something like that fails them it's time to buckle down and ratchet up the defensive intensity and elevate their game. The Heat know this from experience, OKC will also after this series is over.

I would add that WB attacking the basket is not the same thing as what jtr is advocating with Gasol or what McHale wants to see from his center position.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baske...es/sports/basketball/nba/lakers+ (Lakers+Now)

Jim Buss says Lakers fans shouldn't expect major moves

Buss knows there are calls from many, including Magic Johnson, to shake up the roster, but it's unlikely to happen. He says the chances of Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol opening the season with the team are 'very good.'

By T.J. Simers
June 19, 2012, 9:24 p.m.

TV analyst Magic Johnson has called out Lakers honcho Jim Buss, while also wondering in a tweet why Kobe Bryant isn't doing the same every day.

In online excerpts from an interview Phil Jackson did with HBO, Jackson is asked why Jim Buss has "chosen to almost disassemble so much of what you've built?"
And now the Lakers don't have a starting point guard on their roster, with Ramon Sessions opting out of his contract.

"Bring it on," says Buss, "where do you want to start?"

What are the chances of the Lakers starting the season with Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol all in Lakers uniforms?

"Very good," says Buss.

So you don't agree with those who say the Lakers must turn Gasol into two or three players via a trade?

"No," he says. "I think changes are going to be made moving Pau lower to the basket. We can improve that way with a change in coaching strategy rather than a change in personnel."

No moves?

"We will try to sign Sessions when the rules allow beginning in July," he says. "And improve the bench."

No major free-agent signings, no blockbuster trades?

"No," he says.

Smelling salts, please, for Magic.

Magic was looking right into the ESPN camera when he told a national audience: "Jim Buss, brother, you have a job to do. I'm telling you right now because if you don't do it, you're going to hear from me."

Buss laughs. "He's got my phone number."

To hear Magic talk, and this has to make Dodgers players nervous, he's ready to blow up the Lakers because they failed to advance.

"He sounds like a TV analyst to me," says Buss. "That's his job to give opinions. I don't have a problem with that, and like a good Lakers fan he just wants us to get better. So do I."

Magic remains listed as a Lakers vice president, but the team says he's not being paid for the honorary title. They therefore aren't fined when he suggests they trade for Josh Smith or Dwight Howard.

"I would think Magic knows better than anyone," says Buss, "when the Lakers lose the last game of the season, everyone here is going to do whatever they can to make improvements."

 

There have been pages of great Basketball discussion here. Some very interesting points have been brought up about the center position's role in today's NBA. Let me attempt to sum up what has been going on and ask a few questions that are unresolved in my mind.

Does this mean that even if the Rockets obtain Gasol in the off season and surround him with an upgrade of talent (Josh Smith, OJ Mayo for instance) Houston could not compete for a championship because of a shift in the dynamics of the game from the post to the wings?

Does this mean that Zeller and Leonard will be drafted and will never have reach their potential because they will basically be the classic NBA center who is not as mobile as today's game demands?

Does this actually raise the value of Drummond? Big enough to bang with Bynum but with the lateral movement and quickness to handle LBJ when he actually does post up? Before you all focus in on this point please read the scouting report below. It actually has imbedded film!

http://swishscout.com/?page_id=1632

Or does this mean that if you have a classical center in the game you have to post them up repeatedly to force the other team to "go big"? Is passing ability out of the low post now more critical than ever?

There are many more questions that could be asked.