I don't think the Rockets will be able to trade for Pau, but I think the key here is that Pau is going to turn into a 20M expiring contract in a year, the same year where Lebron James, Chris Bosh, & a handful of other really really good players become available. And who knows, maybe by the trade deadline of next year, Kevin Love is extremely unhappy and demanding a trade. Haven't the Wolves been pretty fond of Gasol for some time? He could be a key part of any trade package in the future, especially if he were to turn things around here in Houston. Buy low, sell high! Still don't think we have the pieces to pull of any large trade.
well nobody's perfect, so what? You don't seem to be making the same argument here. Your argument now is "I don't want Pau because I think he sucks and he's expensive" as opposed to your initial "I don't want Pau because the Lakers don't want Pau, and the Lakers are supersmart". I'm not sure there's much point to go into those flexibility and "Pau sucks" arguments again, there've been probably 200 posts about it in this thread.
This is a good point to note, even though like you said, I find a Pau deal to be highly unlikely. An 18 Mil expiring contract allows a trading team lots of opportunity to wash away their sins of bad contracts. Pau could provide some major short term help, and next year could be flipped for a star package if there was one out there. If Morey trades for Pau, it will most likely be because he wants Pau first and forememost, but IMO, if they aren't giving up much other than short term cap space, its a pretty low risk deal given the short amount of time he will have in Houston before his contract is viewed as a large expiring. Plus, if he plays great, you can always re-sign him after his contract expirings if he agrees to stay in Houston. That being said, dont count me in as someone that is believing Pau is the answer to all of Houston's problems. Im a huge fan of Gasol, but Im not stupid. I understand that his minutes are going to need to be limited now moving forward, and be handled similarly to how Popavich handles Duncan in San Antonio. He's well past his prime, but that doesn't mean he cannot be an affective player for another 5 or so years if handled right. So buyer beware, but in this case Gasol is a pretty low risk deal if you are only the only thing you are risking is short term cap space.
"Hey Gasol I look real good right now and I will play more minutes than you and be in the game during the 4th quarter"!!
I still like Gasol, and think that it wouldn't be all that bad to take on his contract even at his age given that he's only signed for 2 more years. However, I would be careful as to what the team gives up for him-- perhaps this means the kind of price I'd be willing to make is unrealistically low for Gasol. Here are my concerns: 1. Health? Health is a question with any player. In Gasol's case, he is reported to have tendonitis in both knees. He has looked slow of late, likely as a result of these. 2. Will His Game Fit with the Rockets Offensively? The Rocket are playing an up-tempo game (leads the league in possessions/48 minutes) and scoring efficiently while deploying 3-point shooters at the 4. Adding Gasol as the PF would change all this. Gasol may be available because he doesn't fit into D'Antoni's speedball scheme, but we are running a scheme with some important similar aspects. 3. Is the Gasol/Asik combo too slow defensively? Gasol was pretty mobile for his size, but not this year. Again, is it the tendonitis? Will he get better? Is it just age? Gasol/Asik can probably work in some match-ups but a good number of teams can probably exploit them. Maybe the issue is that Gasol should really be a C at this point in his career (in fact, I think the Lakers were at their best playing him at C and Odom at PF in their championship yars). If so, I don't know I'd sit Asik in favor of making better use fo Gasol, given the age/upside of Asik.
When the Heat go small and Lebron plays the 4 spot, how can Gasol defend him? The answer is he is benched for Jamison.
Why would any Rockets fan want Gasol right now with this team? Gasol is being benched late in games. He can not run the floor or don't want too. LA has a fast paced offense and guess what so do the Rockets. If he doesn't run for LA, Why would he run for Houston. Gasol needs to go to a half court team maybe Boston-San Antonio.
If Gasol were the last missing piece for the Rockets to make a championship run this year then maybe it would make sense. But the Rockets are missing a lot more than one key player to become a championship contender. All Gasol does is eat up cap space and limits what Morey can do regarding trades and free agents. No Thanks!
Yes, the system would have to adjust a little. The problem with D'Antoni is that he has a history of failing when personnel doesn't fit his system. So it's easy to assume that he won't be able to adjust. I'm not sure about the Rockets coaches. The usage of your bigs seems in large part based on their strengths, as opposed to only trusting the bigs that fit a certain offensive system. If you got Gasol and Sampson didn't adjust, he needs to take a long sabbatical. He should be a center offensively, in the sense that most of his touches should reach him in the low post. Defensively, he's not perfect at either spot. Bynum/Pekovic type huge centers are too strong for him, and quick skilled shooting little forwards beat him off the dribble. The Pau/Odom/Bynum rotation was great, the Lakers could always change things up defensively depending on what type of defender they needed next to Pau. He looks a bit slower now, so he's not going to get better vs. these small ball 4s. But few teams have legit all star level guys like that. Melo, LeBron, Millsap, West, Josh Smith, Anthony Davis (not so much in size, but athleticism and how he plays)... i might be forgetting a few. Plus, he doesn't get beaten every time, it's just that it's a mismatch and he's below average in that situation. But he does very well vs. real 4s or less skilled tweeners, or most centers. He's also a very smart team defender who rarely makes mistakes, and hedges/switches close to perfection. So overall, he'd be a positive on that end. Btw, as a basketball fan in general, I'd rather see him traded to the Spurs. Celtics as the 2nd option, then everywhere else. Those places would be perfect and take full advantage of him. But anything's better than Pau stretching the floor as a D'Antoni PF.
because Jamison can defend? come on. Watching Jamison defend is like hearing some fart loudly in a Mozart concert. The only reason he's on the court is that D'Antoni wants someone to shoot 3s.
haha. I swear i thought of San Antonio / Boston before I saw this post! :grin: But my thinking was more about potential chemistry between Duncan-Pau and Garnett-Pau offensively, rather than pace. It would be beautiful.
We don't need Gasol. Maybe last year when we were desperate and had no direction, but I'm loving the development of the team right now. We are the youngest team in the league but still at .500. We have a star and a stud Center. Our PG is also young and can improve. Best bet is to wait and acquire someone younger who will add to our core not a stopgap solution like Pau.
Thanks to cap room, Lin + Cook is all the needed salary by the Rockets, to send for Gasol. If the Bucks can get involved. Gooden would seem like a good fit under Pringles. He averaged 15.5pts and 7.1rbs as a starter last season. The Bucks had a suprisingly good run working their offense with Gooden in the high post. Lakers: Lin, Gooden, Cook Bucks: Blake, Duhon, or whoever else the Lakers want to dump Rockets: Gasol
Gasol had five of his shots blocked in the Indiana game, including a dunk attempt on a 4-on-1 fastbreak. Last night, he had a dunk blocked by Big Baby Davis of all people. Let's not excuse his poor play by saying he's misused in their offense when he's consistently getting stuffed on high percentage looks. He's either really bothered by the tendonitis, too old to dominate, or both. Anyone who trades for him should realize that he is just a huge expiring contract for next year. If he returns to form it will be a bonus, not expected.
The tendonitis might be overplayed. A lot of players in the league have it. Even younger players like Lin, Kawhi, and Shumpert have this issue in their knees.
Baby block was awesome. It's amazing how it's physically possible to make that play with all that weight. The Pacers blocks were just Pau taking dumb shots and looking mentally out of it, not making the right passes that he usually does. That includes the 4 on 1 -- i wouldn't call it a fastbreak, the Pacers simply lost the ball at the 3pt line and Hibbert was always standing there waiting for Pau to come. Great play by Hibbert nonetheless, even though Pau was dumb to try.
And the flexibility for the remainder of this season and is gone with that 1 move. So we'd have that team...meh... I'd much rather stand with who we have and see what surprises might happen because of extra money and the new tax a-comin'. (see Harden)
