It is not a small loss for the Lakers do lose out on their rotation of 3 ~7 footers. (To be fair, Fisher going to the bench is a huge boost for them defensively) While Kobe will gain some mileage on the offensive end, he is going to have to expend considerably more on the defensive end by not having that cushion. And this is assuming Bynum and Paul's knees stay healthy.
Did anyone actually say that Gasol was the best big man in the league or that he was the most skilled post player in the league. There's a pretty big difference between the two and I don't recall any credible person attesting to the former.
The Lakers just solved the biggest problem position on their entire team. Losing Gasol and Odom certainly leaves a dent, so I wouldn't slate them in for the Championships just yet.
So you solve your biggest problem (PG), and yet you lost your biggest advantage (size). It's a marginal improvement if you look at the bigger picture. The Lakers won championships b/c of their size, despite their glaring weakness at PG (size matters moreso than anything if you have more than capable big men).
Exactly,Bynum isn't consistent. However,I don't consider Pau as a true center. He will have more trouble in Houston in LA. Andrew has his problems, but he took off pressure from Pau on occasions. Odom's length,scoring ability and defense will also be missed.
oh man as a laker fan i am happy that i think team improved, but it's tough to let go of gasol and odom, they are such classy guys and contributed so much for the 2 championships, and gasol is still one of the best big men out there, so skilled and unselfish
Gasol and Odom were huge parts of the Lakers success. If Bynum gets injured mid-season again, and if there are chemistry issues with both Paul and Kobe needing the ball, the Lakers may not look so great. Phil Jackson to Mike Brown is also a coaching downgrade (though I'm not as down on Mike Brown as most others).
Only way this deal makes sense is if Howard comes...Frankly at this point I don't know what to believe. It's a long shot, but it IS the Lakers aka NBA farmer... CP3 and Kobe would be interesting to watch though
I'd LMAO if the Lakers don't get Howard, Bynum gets injured and Paul and Kobe don't get along and Paul bolts to NY after the season.
I definitely see the glass as half full on this one. Sure give a huge advantage to the Lakers with a big upgrade to their PG issues but I agree with everyone else in saying that the reason why the Lakers won those two titles was because of their length. Now we're not even sure if Paul will choose to sign an extension with the Lakers or bolt to NY later. PLUS we can't forget that Bynum's had a good amount of injuries the last few years and Paul isn't an ironman himself either. I would definitely be intrigued by what happens next season. Hopefully this isn't the last move for Morey this offseason, I can definitely appreciate his attempts to make this team better though.
It's being reported that the Lakers will also receive C/F Emeka Okafor from the Hornets to match salaries. They still are big, but lose their X-factor in Odom.
This was a deal for the future. They're not worried about if Paul fits with Kobe. Paul (and Howard, they hope) is what they'll be building around from no on.
Gonna toot my own horn here a bit... I called this trade 2 days ago. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=6439101&postcount=363
If they take back Okafor, fine, but then they have ZERO chances of Dwight. Even without him, it's unlikely Kobe+Okafor+Paul+ their bench (Artest, Blake, Fisher, Walton) easily puts them over the cap. And they have nothing to offer. Unless Dwight's willing to play for 3 million, they have no chance of getting him. At any rate, we're now under the cap room and should be a realistic threat to just plain sign Dwight in the offseason. I like this.
