its gotta be Paul Gasol. The dude can still play at a high level, if utilized correctly. The length up front, plus it lessens the scoring load on Harden, lets him exert more defensively, and hes a big expiring contract. yum
We won't trade for him. We'll pick him up off amnesty waivers. No way they'll use the amnesty clause on Kobe.
Sure, but Lakers will want significant young pieces to help their rebuild. They will trade Gasol if Dwight stays. We could give Lin and Asik for Gasol but I don't think it would be worth it.
If the Lakers trade Pau, the only "asset" they're serious about is eliminating his salary. They're on the verge of paying a luxury tax bill that's over $50 million, all for a team that isn't a contender. They'll gladly swap him for a young prospect (Robinson?) that saves them $34 million. And I don't think DM would want Pau to sign an extension, at least not immediately. The point to dealing for Pau is that it maintains our flexibility for 2014. It's a one-year stop gap. I wouldn't rule out Pau returning beyond then, but it wouldn't be an immediate priority by any stretch.
Well it's not CP3 after he forced Donald to release Del Negro. Now he wants Donald to hire a Black Coach just to rub his face in it. CP3 is running the show in Clipperland and ain't going anywhere.
Lakers fire MDA and hire Jackson or one of his old assistants. The Lakers resign Dwight and KEEP Gasol. They go back to the triangle offense, and improve to the number 5/6 seed. Kobe is amnestied, and he agrees not to come back next year. Gasol and Kobe resign next year for much lower salaries, and another very good free agent is signed to something close to the max. The Rockets sign Josh Smith to a 4 year $50 million deal.
Cousins is a phenomenal talent but you have to figure Morey has learned his lesson with TWill and Royce. Then again Cousins is the only one of the three to have actually produced on the court. And with the NBA rejecting the sell to the Seattle group and an assumption about the Kings staying in Sacramento, I'm not sure Cousins even becomes available.
I agree it's probably not CP3, but I don't like the logic of "he's staying because he just got them to do XXX". I mean, LeBron dictated moves in Cleveland for years. Didn't stop him. These contracts are the single biggest decisions these guys will ever make in the NBA... what they've done in the past isn't going to guilt them into anything. They're going to do what they think is best. I do think Paul ends up staying, if I had to guess, but I don't think his pushing Del Negro out seals anything. The Clippers just know it gives them a better shot.
Dwight, or Josh, nothing else. I think the Rockets will have the patience to look forward to the draft, the trading deadline, or 2014 free-agents.
I can't see us getting an old, broken down center (Pau or Bynum). We aren't at that point with this current team where time is running out and we're adding whatever we can find to get us over the hump. We have time and money; why settle for an old jalopy?
I disagree. The Lakers have a 200+ milion a year cable deal. They are not worried about paying the luxury tax. They just want good young players in return for Gasol. Robinson wouldn't be enough.
Yep, but Donald admitted today in the LA Times that he got rid of Del Negro because of Paul. There must be some tacit understanding between the owner and Paul otherwise he wouldn't make that move or admission.
Play the rooks from last season and continue building throught the draft. Our draftees from 2012 should be ready for a breakout season.
The same was said about the Knicks a year ago, and in addition to their massive revenues, Jeremy Lin was/is a cash cow of epic proportions. Much moreso than Pau Gasol. His contract was also cheaper than Pau's. With all those factors in play, the Knicks still didn't match. The tax matters, even for the big boys.
Once Dwight signs with them, considering how and when Kobe returns from that Achilles injury, do you honestly think that Jim or Jeanie Buss are willing to pay say $90mil on tax alone for next season? Why would Morey want an aging Pau to a multi-year extension? If he strikes out on Dwight and CP3, Morey will opt to keep that max salary cap space and be major bidders again for the 2014 free agency. He will show interest in Pau because of his expiring contract. "For the Lakers to trade Pau, they are going to want back some serious assets"? I strongly disagree. Instead, Pau will actually be a candidate for team amnesty. Meaning, it would only cost us one of our young power forwards and/or a future 2nd round pick. Teams that have cap space to absorb that $19m contract Gasol has is pretty scarce to begin with. http://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/lakers-amnesty-pau-gasol/184764
I think there's an understanding that it improves their chance, yes. But I don't think it means there's a done deal. It's the same way Cleveland and Orlando made misguided moves that were endorsed by LeBron and Dwight, who ultimately ended up leaving. Superstars hold all the power, and the best the teams can do is meet their demands when reasonable and hope for the best. Odds are that CP3 stays, but I think it's far from done.
Morey, I think looks at Greg Oden. Physically when healthy he's a beast. If he's willing to sign a one yr contract between 4-6 million max that's not fully guarenteed or a multiyear contract with a team option. We can see how healthy he is at a reasonable price and have first dibs on him if he pans out. This allows Morey to potentially improve the team at a low cost and to make other moves either this off season or more likely in the next off-season. The FA class of 2014 it will be easier to land some star players, just as a result of a higher talent pool of the free agent class.
