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About This Page: This is a discussion on Basketball within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ade/index.html
Bye Kwame
Wow. This will be interesting. It makes you wonder what Memphis is doing here.
They took a chance on the draft bust Darko... and now Kwame.
As for Kwame, it makes you also wonder if he'll have any motivation to improve... since he got dealt.
Pau Gasol however... is the the PF we TRULY need! Finally!
I had a feeling today was gonna be a good day when I put on my Lakers cap and hoody. Can't wait to see this team healthy and in the playoffs. Not title contender yet but next year and/or the year after definitely.
I like this trade. Somebody with talent who has the balls to shoot the ball unlike Lamar. Now Lamar can go back to being the 3rd option. And the 4th option when Bynum comes back.
__________________ The Kings are either on a magic carpet ride to the promised land or riding a psychotic horse running toward a burning stable. We'll know in 3 years.
The Memphis Grizzlies will send Pau Gasol and a future second-round pick to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, the unofficially retired Aaron McKie , the draft rights to Pau Gasol's brother Marc and future first-round picks in 2008 and 2010.
Weird! Didn't know a team can still own the rights to someone who hasn't officially retired. So what does McKie have to do now? Is he forced to play for Memphis if he signs a contract? First round picks in 08 and 10... I could care less about those, since this is the Lakers we're talking about.
Now that I've recovered from the shock and after taking a step back to look at this, I have a few thoughts.
Gasol will definitely help our offense - he's absoultely deadly in the low post, and will definitely take pressure off of Kobe. But did we really need more offense? We're 3rd in the league in points scored. The bigger question is how does this trade affect our defense? We're in the bottom 3rd of the NBA in team defense, and Gasol is one of the softest big men in the NBA. Given that some of the best bigs in the NBA (eg Duncan, Amare, Dirk) are in the West, this doesn't bode well for us. This likely means the youngster Bynum will be forced to guard these superstars, and they'll probably have huge games against us. I guess we're opting to use the outscore the opposition strategy? This is why I wish we had gotten a Kidd or Artest - someone who specialized in lockdown D.
Gasol is also injury prone. He's missed a good amount of action with foot injuries, and has missed a few games this year with back injuries. We also found out that Bynum has a condition in his knee that makes him prone to injuries similar to the one he suffered earlier this season. So for the next few years we have a pretty fragile front court. How's that going to hold out?
Finally, Gasol will really help our rebounding. So where does that leave Lamar? Perhaps Lamar's biggest contribution to this team has been his rebounding. Is he now expendable?
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that the Lakers have gotten a player of Pau Gasol's caliber, but I'm not sure that he fills any of our biggest needs.
Wow. This will be interesting. It makes you wonder what Memphis is doing here.
They took a chance on the draft bust Darko... and now Kwame.
As for Kwame, it makes you also wonder if he'll have any motivation to improve... since he got dealt.
Crittenton and draft picks were the only component of the trade that are part of the Grizzlies's plans for their future. Kwame and McKie were just throw-ins to make the salaries match. Memphis can now take Gasol's contract off the books and free up cap space to rebuild and sign future picks. Believe me - Memphis isn't counting on Kwame to contribute. He SUCKS!
I had a feeling today was gonna be a good day when I put on my Lakers cap and hoody. Can't wait to see this team healthy and in the playoffs. Not title contender yet but next year and/or the year after definitely.
Typical reaction from a bandwaggoning Ducks fan. Don't worry, the Lakers welcome you back.
__________________ "Let's go this way. It's shorter." - LGK Midget
The bigger question is how does this trade affect our defense? We're in the bottom 3rd of the NBA in team defense, and Gasol is one of the softest big men in the NBA.
LOL. He said "defense" and "NBA" in the same sentence.
Gasol will definitely help our offense - he's absoultely deadly in the low post, and will definitely take pressure off of Kobe. But did we really need more offense? We're 3rd in the league in points scored. The bigger question is how does this trade affect our defense? We're in the bottom 3rd of the NBA in team defense, and Gasol is one of the softest big men in the NBA. Given that some of the best bigs in the NBA (eg Duncan, Amare, Dirk) are in the West, this doesn't bode well for us. This likely means the youngster Bynum will be forced to guard these superstars, and they'll probably have huge games against us. I
Disagree that Gasol is "one of the softest guy's in the league". Seems like that's just a label he has because the Grizz have't done anything in the playoffs. He's a good rebounder and a good shotblocker. Finally playing next to a Center who can also rebound and defend the rim will help him out a ton. You don't average 8 boards a game and close to 2 blocks a game by being "soft".
I'm not too worried about Gasol's D. It's good enough and he's a very solid shot bocker. The guy's you mentioned aren't going to be shutdown by many guys in the league. Amare is a center(a real candidate for one of the softest guys in the league), Gasol won't be guarding him anyways, that's Bynum's assignment.
Plus Gasol's offense means he'll make this guy's work on the other end. Other power forwards won't get to take a break on defense like they do now.
This is from ESPN's scouting reports
Quote:
Defensively, Gasol never will be confused with Ben Wallace. He's quick and long but his lack of muscle is a problem in the paint, especially since the Griz lack a bruiser who can help ease the burden.
Gasol is an effective shot-blocker though, and had by far his best season on the boards. It was hard to tell how much effort he was putting into the proceedings given his demands to be traded and Memphis' general laissez-faire attitude on that end, but one would expect him to perform decently there this season now that Darko Milicic can guard the bigger centers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DieHardKingsfan
This is why I wish we had gotten a Kidd or Artest - someone who specialized in lockdown D.
I don't think Jason Kidd is a lock down defender. He's made some all defense teams but the reason he's wanted is he would make Nash work on defense, he would make Parker work on defense, he would make Paul work on defense. You mention all those guy's above(Amare, Dirk, Duncan) how does acquiring Kidd or Artest help that problem. Gasol absolutley fills a need. Without him we would still be fielding an undersized PF in Odom or an even more undersized PF in Turiaf. We get another post threat who can also shoot a mid range jumper and another shotblocker. This is not some luxury, we needed a PF who could score and defend and we finally got one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DieHardKingsFan
Finally, Gasol will really help our rebounding. So where does that leave Lamar? Perhaps Lamar's biggest contribution to this team has been his rebounding. Is he now expendable?
Lamar gets to move to his more natural position at SF. He's a good rebounder at 4 and a great rebounder at 3. There's not much pressure on him offensivly now and his mentality of being a creator isn't a burden anymore, in fact it's quite neccessary since our fully healthy starting 5 really has 4 shooters(Fish is a PG but has never been true one). Having a guy in the starting lineup who is truly pass first will be big. Odom is also a very solid defender, our 1-3 guys can switch on anything now which is something all of Phil Jackson's great teams have in common.
__________________ "11:19 -- You're not gonna believe this, but J.D. Drew took a called third strike to end the inning.
(Note: Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals fans everywhere are nodding and saying, "Yup ... been there, done that.")
MetalRose77
Big Lakers Trade 
