If gasol were still a Memphis grizz' no one would be even talking about him right now ....in Memphis= labeled soft and inability to carry a team.... In lakers= considered dominant and best player. WTF!? Oh how soon do we forget!
Yep, and if Iverson had gone to the Lakers instead of Philly, he'd be considered a top-5 all-timer now. Your teammates have just as much say in your legacy as your numbers, if not more.
We've already been through this. The Lakers already had Marc Gasol and Kwamay Brown's trade. Even if they had not traded for Pau, they still would have had Marc Gasol + another very good player in exchange for Kwamay. Either way the Lakers had lucked into Marc Gasol or Pau Gasol and would have been beastly.
Accounting for competition? You mean accounting for the fact that Shaq played in the era when all the great centers were past their prime or retired, so he had almost no competition?
Dahntay Jones was playing 7, 12, and 13 minutes per game those three years the Grizzlies made the playoffs. It's ridiculous to mention him as if he's so much better than any of Kobe's teammates during the same stretch. Stupid GMs give players like Swift big contracts all the time. In 04-05, Brian Cardinal averaged 9ppg in 24minutes and 58 games, while shooting 37% from the field! And how is it inexcusable to get swept by the defending champs (Spurs, 2003-04), a team that made the conference Finals in consecutive years (Suns, 2004-05), and a team that was minutes away from going up 3-0 in the Finals that same season (Mavs, 2005-06)? I would say it's more inexcusable to blow a 3-1 lead in the first round like Kobe's Lakers did. His supporting cast was good enough to help him get that 3-1 lead, why were they suddenly so horrible they couldn't help him win one of three?
Yes, and Marc Gasol while pretty good wouldn't be enough to deal with KG-Boston or Dwight Howard, if they reached the finals at all. Memphis is the only team stupid enough to trade an all-star for Kwame Brown and Pau Gasol's brother. They couldn't trade Andrew Bynum because he got injured at the deadline (which was probably the driving force for the Gasol trade in the first place), and then after that they had to sign Bynum to a 10mill contract to keep him around while Kwame Brown's contract would have expired already. Meaning they would have to pick between Marc Gasol and Bynum (or play them together). So yeah, Kobe would still only have 3 rings.
Marc Gasol is not as good offensively as Pau but he is easily a better defender than Pau. Bynum/Marc Gasol/Lamar Odom is just fine against Boston & Magic. There have been plenty of stupid trades. Brandon Roy for Randy Foye. Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac. Dirk Nowitzki for Tractor Traylor, Barkley for scrubs, Beasley to Wolves for bag of chips, Carlos Boozer for free. You can't say that there couldn't have been another good deal out there. You don't know this. Nope.
And let's not forget, the Lakers were #1 in the West before they even got Pau Gasol. Bynum/Marc Gasol/Lamar Odom + Kwamay's trade would have been greater than Pau Gasol. Marc Gasol + Kwamay trade $10 million > Pau Gasol And Marc Gasol was never soft like Pau GaSOFT.
If Marc Gasol is that GOOD why did the Lakers trade him for Gasol? They could have just let Kwame walked away. Pau Gasol has got to the saddest player in the league history. He gains zero respect from his own team fans despite being one of the main reasons the lakers won the last 2 rings. The lakers won, he is soft. The lakers lost, he is soft.
None of these trades is remotely comparable to proven All-star for Kwame Brown + Marc Gasol. Roy, Foye, Bryant, Dirk, and Traylor had never played a game in the NBA at the time of the trades. Barkley wanted out of Philly. Beasley had to go to clear cap room for Lebron, so the trade was really Beasley for Lebron + 2nd round picks. When was Carlos Boozer traded for free? He left both Cleveland and Utah as a free agent.
How is it absolutely ridiculous because of his minutes to mention that he was so much better than for example Sasha Vujacic and Jumaine Jones? Especially when you consider his production per minutes? Plus, no one looks at Dahntay Jones for offense, he is on the floor first and foremost for his defensive abilities. Stupid GM's give players big contracts all the time but usually the players has to show just a hint of ability and unfortunately Stro did just that and got himself his money but it wasnt for not showing anything in Memphis. He was a serviceable forward that when compared to for example Brian Cook or Brian Grant, the players he would have matched up with on the 04/05-06/07 Lakers, put up numbers as good or better. Ok, Cardinal shot 37 per from the field in 04/05, what were his shooting percentages the following years in Memphis? I believe 41% and 49% from the field. Devean George and Sasha Vujacic didn't exactly put up better shooting percentages than Cardinal in 04/05. I'm sorry what did the defending champs do that season they swept Memphis? I dont think they went on to run through the playoffs back to the finals. I can understand if you said it's not inexcusable that they got swept by the eventual champs but so what if they played the defending champs? It is inexcusable to get swept 3 years by those 3 teams with the talent the Grizzlies had on their roster. That says more than a lot about their star player, not so much about his play in those games but about his ability to coax the best out of his teammates. That job does not just fall on the head coach as we've seen even in recent history with other stars like MJ, Kobe, and the Boston guys-KG and Pierce. Didn't you just write that the same Phoenix Suns that the Lakers blew a 3-1 lead too, made the conference finals in consecutive years before that? No shame to lose to them, the Suns were simply a better team and the Lakers put up a valiant fight and despite dropping 3, they took it to a game 7. Most importantly, they won ONE game! It is inexcusable for Memphis under Pau to come away with ZERO wins vs the Spurs, Suns, and Mavs those years. One can understand them losing all three series but to get swept in all 3 series with what they had at their disposal is inexcusable. We can go on with this but whatever, if you want to say Kobe's Lakers pre-Pau and post Shaq were better than Pau's Grizzlies(Which I and some others disagree with) then fine go ahead but the disparity in ability and production between the rosters on both teams during that times wasn't to the extent that one can excuse Pau's Memphis teams' for winning ZERO playoff games in that time.
It's funny. Before Gasol, the Lakers couldn't do anything and Kobe was threatening to leave. They get Gasol and go straight to the Finals. And somehow everyone in the media concludes that winning with Gasol and struggling without him makes Kobe the best Laker ever. Seriously, people were saying Kobe is better than Magic. Ridiculous.
If Odom grabbed that one rebound in game 6, or Kwame was smart enough to contest TT on 3pt line, they'd already won it. It's just luck. If Peja hit that final shot in 2002 game 7, they'd already had a championship too. The Lakers roles weren't horrible in the last 3 games, they're just not very good to begin with, they took Suns by surprise in game 2, and survived a game 4 by 2 fatal mistakes of Nash. After 4 games, all strategies were figured out. They had only one shot in game 6, and it's close.
No, it's you Kobe haters being ridiculous by saying Kobe's nothing without Gasol. Sure Kobe didn't win a playoff series without Shaq or Gasol, so did MJ without Pippen. This is Kobe's team, Gasol is a perfect 2nd fiddle, they complement each other well and they've won 2 championships. So what's the problem here?
