[Yahoo Sports]Memphis owner now questions value of Gasol deal

the OWNER hasn't minced words about his goal. he wanted to stop paying luxury taxes.

this isn't difficult folks

 

When Baron Davis was traded for Speedy Claxton and crap, no one said anything.

When Vince Carter was traded for a bought-out Zo and the Williams' scrubs, no one said anything.

When Caron Butler and Atkins were traded for Kwame Brown, no one said anything.

Now we're all supposed to be all upset about Gasol? Talk about double-standard.

 

Repeating something again and again does not make it relevant. It is NOT good for Memphis except maybe the purse of that idiotic owner. Even that is delusional because any bad trade devalues the franchise and alienates fans who are his customers.

I have already explained to you the different between the goals of cap space and that of salary cut. If you don't understand my analogy of why a customer would be angry about cutting cost to give a crappy product, I don't know what else can enlighten you.

And Crittenton was a known product? Landry was much more productive than Crittenton before February.

You do have reading comprehension, don't you? When did I say "this was a bad deal because the team I hate is winning"?

See above point about what is the difference between the two.

 

memphis 29th in attendance, their franchise is crap already, why should he bleed when the fans don't show?

um, that was a weak attempt at explaining, all you said was cap space was long term to sign players, cost cutting was to screw the fans. you mean the fans that show up and pay ticket prices when they had gasol LOL semantics

i'm not continuing this argument because its purely hypothetical. landry was an unknown second round pick, by your reasoning this trade would have brought on just as much b****ing if the rockets would have made the Finals

you're right, why would I make that leap in logic that you hate the trade because la is winning

i did and refuted it for the umpteenth time

 

Point taken. A bag of peanuts is certainly worth a lot more than it used to be, just ask Southwest Airline frequent fliers!

 

memphis, last in attendance in 07, 26th in attendance in 06 coming off a good year and having a decent one.

 

Uhm, people said things about all of those trades - where were you?

 

You must have been in a coma when those trades happened.

The relationship between BD and the Hornets was dead in the water. He was also injury-prone and the Hornets were sick and tired of him.

The VC trade had people roaring and ripping, both the Raptors for getting so little and VC for dogging it on the court to force a trade while lowering the Raptors trade leverage. What he did to the Raptors the first part of that season (which included faking/exaggerating an injury to explain why he was so bad) was a crime. When he got to NJ, he was healed and his energy and hops returned.

When Butler & Atkins were traded for Kwame, Butler hadn't developed into what he is today, Atkins had an extremely toxic relationship with Kobe & had to go and Kwame wasn't considered a bust yet by 100% of people that know anything about basketball. He actually got 3yrs/$24MM from the Lakers because they (and other teams) thought he was salvageable.

 

pgabriel, as a rockets fan (i think), you must be a tad bit upset/sour that the lakers (a conference rival) are now the favorites to win the west for the next 5 years, making it even more difficult for the rockets to win the chip, am i right? i think this is the basis of the argument that's going on. rockets fans are frustrated with such a lopsided trade because it hurts our chances at a chip, while you're arguing the technicalities of the trade which definitely makes sense since the owner will always do what's best for him.

 

Now questions? Based on his answers it's no surprise what's happened in Memphis and Memphis is the way it is

 

As Rockets fans, we too wish we had Pau to help us conquer the West! and then the NBA. Why deal with the Lakers the way they did?

The last year has in one year essentially recreated the pre lottery old NBA. Big money (big markets) reign supreme. No surprise Boston and LA are back up there. Boston has shot up in one year. What a turnaround

Money is power

 

Watching diligently. Yeah, people talked. You know what they said about those trades right afterwards?

Davis - Warriors are on fire now. What a great trade for them!

Carter - Nets are rolling and have a chance to contend again. What a great trade for them!

Butler - The wizards turned fan-despised Kwame into Butler. What a great trade for them!

Gasol - The lakers can contend for a title. What a horrible trade for Memphis.

We all know stars don't always get equal value in trades. All the former teams of the players above got nothing, or worse. But none of the trades got as much vitriol as the current Gasol deal and I don't get it. I'm guessing it has to do with it involving the Lakers, because if some team like Atlanta had gotten Gasol in a steal I doubt people would be whining so much.

A_3PO: There are always reasons to trade a disgruntled superstar. Gasol was one of them. His situation was no better than Davis', Carter's, or especially Butler's. Memphis felt just as compelled to make deal as any other team that got crap for their star.

The Raptors didn't get as much crap as Memphis did, btw. And if you, personally, didn't know that the Kwame/Butler trade was a steal at the time, I do have to question your basketball judgement.

 

Of course you have to trade disgruntled stars, but Pau didn't exactly pull a Vince Carter to leave Memphis. I said before that what VC did to the Raptors was a despicable crime (in NBA terms of course). What "compelled" Memphis to make the trade was they wanted to dump salary, not because they had a cancer on their hands. There was NO consideration for what they got in return. Dumping salary to help sell your team while handing off a player like Pau and getting less than a bag of peanuts in return was disgraceful. At least the Raptors were extorted and deceived into trading VC at a bargain because nobody was sure whether he was really damaged goods.

I was Kwame Brown's biggest detractor when he went to the Lakers. I even went to Lakersground to tell them they were getting a complete bust with no potential and they would regret the trade almost instantly. At the same time (I repeat), Butler wasn't a borderline All-Star back then and the Lakers weren't the only franchise interested in Kwame Brown. People blamed Michael Jordan for beating Kwame's confidence down and many thought he just needed a change of scenery. Then you have the silly belief that it's better to have a "big" with potential (Kwame) than a smaller player (Butler) with potential. I knew it was a mistake because of how well Butler played off of Kobe, who was in full jerk mode at the time with most of his teammates.

 

The players in those other "lopsisded" trades were hardly playing. Vince was sitting out. Baron was on the injured list. And the case with Bulter, he was not that good back then as he is now. And nobody thought Kwame was going to be this bad.

Pau Gasol was completely healthy and playing for the Grizzlies with hardly any complaints when they traded him. He wasn't rushing them to trade him. If you want to cut salary why do you sign Darko Milicic for 60 million in the offseason?

 

Heisley denies buyer's remorse
Owner insists Gasol deal benefited team

By Ronald Tillery (Contact)
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, June 6, 2008

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley on Thursday refuted an Internet report that indicated he was unhappy with how general manager Chris Wallace handled the Pau Gasol trade.

Heisley spoke from Asia, where he is away on business, with local bloggers as well as The Commercial Appeal and insisted that while his comments were printed correctly, a conversation with Yahoo.com wasn't accurately portrayed.

The Internet article depicted Heisley as having buyer's remorse and being unhappy with Wallace because of what the Grizzlies received for Gasol, who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers into the NBA Finals.

"I started out by saying that I approved the trade. I approve all trades," Heisley said. "(The writer) made it sound like I was upset with Chris when all I was doing was stating the obvious. We didn't talk to every team. The whole tone of the conversation was that I made the decision on the trade. We decided after several months that we would only take back (salary) cap space and draft picks.

"I'm not throwing Chris under the bus. I was satisfied with the trade and (the writer) totally eliminates that. I'm responsible."

The Griz have been the subject of constant ridicule for accepting from the Lakers the expiring contract of Kwame Brown, rookie point guard Javaris Crittenton, two first-round picks (2008 and 2010) and the draft rights to Gasol's brother, Marc.

Team owners such as Dallas' Mark Cuban and coaches including San Antonio's Gregg Popovich scoffed at the deal.

Even Laker players have referred to acquiring Gasol as a donation.

Yahoo writer Adrian Wojnarowski recently quoted Heisley as saying: "I don't know if I got the most value. Maybe our people should've shopped (Gasol) more and maybe we would've gotten more, done a better deal. Maybe Chris did call every team in the league. I don't think he did, but maybe he should've."

Heisley said Thursday that parts of the conversation were misinterpreted and omitted.

"I've never changed my position on this trade," Heisley said, reiterating a stance he has routinely taken on local sports radio. "We got what we were looking for. I'm very happy for Pau but we don't know how this trade will turn out. I'm not going to say I'm dissatisfied with a trade I approved. I had the opportunity to turn it down. And I'm not denying any of the quotes. What I'm saying is that the whole conversation wasn't printed. I'm not holding Chris responsible. I'm responsible."

Heisley's consistent on-the-record criticism of the deal is that Brian Cardinal (and the $11 million he's owed) wasn't included in a deal for Gasol.

"If no one else is happy, then I'm sorry," Heisley said. "I can live with it. I have to live with my own decision."

Wallace didn't appear disturbed by Heisley's comments to Yahoo.com.

"I feel good about the trade still," Wallace said following the Grizzlies' first draft workout in FedExForum. "I'd make it again today even if Pau becomes MVP of the Finals and the Lakers win the championship. To me, that's irrelevant. We got back some resources that will be very advantageous to us in the future. I certainly can live with that deal.

"It's going to bear fruit for the Grizzlies over time."

javascript:newwind('http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/06/heisley-denies-buyers-remorse/','151')

 

^^ opps here is the link

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/06/heisley-denies-buyers-remorse

 

memphis was not going to win with pau gasol

he's a lessor version of jermaine o'neal. the more i argue about this deal the more I understand it ............from memphis's perspective.

 

here's a hint, do your own research, his contract isn't sixty million try 21mm