Report Card: Pau Gasol
We've got a few more of these to go, lest you think we forgot ...
The Lakers were already a very good team (25-11) when Andrew Bynum went down with his season-ending knee injury, ironically enough against the Grizzlies during a game in which Pau Gasol had 21/18/8. Perhaps that was the image Mitch Kupchak had in his head when he swung the Feb. 1 deal that brought the scruffy Spaniard to L.A. Whatever it was, once Gasol was on board, the Lakers went from really good to damn near unbeatable, losing only four more regular-season games (in which Pau played more than three minutes) for the rest of the year. In contrast, when Gasol missed 10 games because of an ankle injury, the Lakers went 5-5. It's hard to imagine a situation in which a player could have more quickly and effectively integrated himself into a new cast, but Gasol and the Lakers were, like Jenny and Forrest Gump, peas and carrots. His passing out of the high post helped supercharge the Lakers attack, and at the same time the Lakers didn't lose any of the chemistry on the high screen and roll that Kobe Bryant and Bynum had developed over the first half of the year.
He averaged 18.8/7.8/3.5, on 59% from the floor, with 1.6 blocks a night in 27 regular-season games. If you're a fan of the fancier metrics, Gasol's true shooting percentage was almost 64%, his effective field goal percentage nearly 59%, assist percentage 17, and PER 24. All are above, at, or just off career highs. Gasol was the perfect complement to Bryant, and even better, his presence seemed to liberate Lamar Odom, who became a very, very bad man once Gasol was on board. All told, the Lakers went from a strong challenger in the Western Conference to the prohibitive favorite to reach the Finals. All while adding a solid personality and increasing the amount of media traffic next to Derek Fisher's locker (spots formerly occupied by Javaris Crittenton and Kwame Brown) by a factor of approximately seven gazillion.
This, to reiterate, was a very good trade.
In the playoffs, Gasol's overall numbers were still strong- 16.9/9.3/4.0, plus nearly two blocks a night. He had strong efforts in the Denver and Utah series, and though he struggled in the Conference Finals and against Boston for the Larry O, there were good moments as well. Against San Antonio, Gasol's scoring and rebounding, especially early in the series, were limited, but on the other hand, he did a very good job defensively against Tim Duncan. And don't forget, the Big Fundamental isn't exactly a slouch guarding the rack, either.
In the Finals, no question Gasol had difficulty enforcing his will, so to speak, but while he couldn't get it going with consistency against Kevin Garnett and the tight Boston D, he again played reasonably strong against Garnett on the other end. My point isn't that he dominated in the series, and certainly he was absolutely atrocious in Game 6, but some of the flak he received through the Finals was, in my estimation, unfair. Gasol would finish with double-doubles in four of the six games, and while there was a lack of consistency in his production, the same could be said for everyone else on the team. Nobody, from Gasol to LO to Kobe to the guys on the bench, was able to generate sustained success through against the Celtics.
That, and the fact that Boston was a better team, helps explain why the Lakers lost.
Playing out of his natural power forward slot eventually began to wear on Gasol as he was asked on a nightly basis to do some things he's not naturally inclined to do. But I was impressed with Gasol's willingness to try (even if unsuccessfully) to body up and get aggressive. It would have been nice to see it happen more often, but when challenged he usually responded, and even through the Boston and San Antonio series where he was quiet offensively, Gasol frequently logged important points and rebounds late, indicating he was working hard to the end.
Game 6 was a nightmare, but don't let it detract from the monumental impact his arrival had on the Lakers, nor the quality of his play on the floor. He's not a perfect player, but he's pretty damn good, and in this system, playing option B or even 1A on some nights, Gasol was able to thrive on a personal level while greasing the wheels for the guys around him.
GRADE: A-
BK
AK,
>>>That trade would be illegal by CBA rules. There's a 3
>>>mil limit to how much cash you can throw into a trade to
>>>make the numbers work. You would need at least 4-5
>>>(doing the math in my head) for this one.
And cash has nothing to do with salary matching. It's just
there as a bonus incentive from one team to the other.
Using hoopshype's numbers, Lamar makes $14,559,00.
To match that, Sacramento would have to include somewhere
between $11,567,200 and $18,198,750 in total salaries.
Ron Artest makes $8,450,000. So Sacramento would need
to add in total salaries worth somewhere between $3,117,200
and $9,748,750. Those numbers assume that ONLY Lamar
is included in the trade.
Note that Sacramento (and most people) think that Ron Artest
is a better player than Lamar Odom. It's a subjective opinion
and you're welcome to disagree, but I think most people think
Ron-Ron is better than Lamar.
Thus Sacramento would expect some additional benefit
in the trade than just Lamar. What sort of benefit would
they want?
1. good young cheap players to team up with Kevin Martin:
- Bynum
- Farmar
- Ariza
- Vujacic
- Turiaf (too late to include him)
2. Dumping off the salary of an unproductive player:
- Kenny Thomas
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim
3. Cash is always nice (as AK pointed out, $3 million is max)
4. expiring contracts (for their ongoing contracts):
- Mihm
- Ariza
- Farmar
- Bynum
5. draft picks
That's about it.
What they don't want:
1. big long contracts from players who have underproduced:
- Walton
- Radmanovic
So here's the way you play the trade game...
The core of the trade is Odom for Artest. That trade is slightly
imbalanced in favor of the Lakers. So you must add someting
to the trade on either side to try to make it more balanced.
Note that if you add a productive player (say Mikki Moore or
John Salmons to match salary), then you've made the trade
MORE imbalanced in favor of the Lakers, so you must add
even more on the Lakers side to balance it out.
Have at it. See what you can come up with. AK already
proposed leaving Odom out of the trade and making it Farmar
and Ariza and Mihm, which probably is realistic.
If you don't want to trade Odom, try cooking up a trade for
Gasol instead. Note that in that case, Gasol is better than
Odom, so now the trade starts out biased in favor of the Kings,
so you need to give more back from the Kings to the Lakers.
If you don't want to do the math yourself, try the trade machine:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/trademachine
It will do all the 125% + $100,000 calculations for you, so
all you have to do is pick the players and see if it works.
Some side issues to think about wrt the trade:
- Lakers would prefer not to add much (if any) salary, so
if you can make the salaries matching, or the Lakers
taking back less salary than they are sending out, that's
a big plus from the Lakers perspective
- Kings are kinda weak at the point guard, so Farmar would
be doubly desirable to them (promising young PG, expiring
contract).
- If you're taking away their excellent SF, it would be nice
to get a promising young SF back in the deal, so Ariza would
also be doubly desirable to them (promising young SF,
expiring contract)
- If you add Bynum in the deal, you've swung it WAY in the
favor of the Kings (and you will be soundly beaten).
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Sunday is the good summer league game to watch...
Lakers vs Memphis.
Memphis has a lot of rookie & sophomore talent (like Detroit) so
they'll probably beat the Lakers, but it will be interesting to see
if Coby Karl can hold his own defending Javaris Critttenton or
OJ Mayo.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Tom,
That's a much more realistic trade. If you're correct in your
guess that Sacramento wants to start Spencer Hawes, then
getting rid of Miller's contract and getting back Ariza in the
deal might be balanced.
If Sacto thought your deal was "close but not quite", the
Lakers could add some cash or a draft pick. If the
assumption that they want to dump off Miller is wrong,
then Ariza's probably not enough (maybe add a first rounder?
or Farmar instead of Ariza?)
Bear in mind, when I propose trades, I'm not always saying I
think the Lakers should make that trade. I'm just trying to
come up with something that seems balanced in value for both teams. There's no way I would EVER have proposed a
Gasol for Kwame trade. And if anyone else would have proposed
it, I would have mocked them mercilessly... shows how much I know.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Jon K,
>>>CAN SOMEONE FRICKEN TELL ME WHO'S ON THE
>>>SUMMER LEAGUE TEAM?
The three you've most likely heard of are:
Coby Karl
Joe Crawford
James "Flight" White
There are also a couple of second tier UCLA guys and a
second tier USC guy:
Lorenzo Mata-Real
Cedric Bozeman
Davon Jefferson
Here's the complete roster:
Cedric Bozeman
Pat Calathes
Mik Caner-Medley
Joe Crawford
Bryant Dunston
Sharrod Ford
Taj Gray
Davon Jefferson
Coby Karl
Marcelus Kemp
Yi Li
Lorenzo Mata-Real
Dwayne Mitchell
Brian Roberts
Michael Southhall
James White.
Having watched the game last night, the only ones with
any chance of making the team would be Coby Karl (who
played very well actually) and Joe Crawford (and ONLY
because he's a draft pick).
A couple of other guys played okay - Sharrod Ford and Bryant
Dunston did okay in the post and Dwayne Mitchell was okay
as a guard, but nothing to write home about. Lorenzo Mata-Real
got a couple of blocks in limited minutes.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 11:32 AM
exhelodrvr,
>>>Restricted free agents who sign with other teams are
>>>almost always overpaid for, because if the offer is fair,
>>>their original team will match it.
Almost always true. There are rare exceptions if the owner of
the original team is cheap. Donald Sterling has failed to match
on more than one occasion, most recently on Miami's offer for
Lamar Odom.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 11:37 AM
giantsquid,
>>>He wants to change his name to Bill Artest because the
>>>name Ron Artest is getting him some bad press. Seriously.
Well, you know that Ron Artest is a frickin' wacko, but I'd let
Bill Artest play for my team anytime.
(lol)
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Gasol is good, but not so great. He is too hesitant to shoot from 15 feet, though he can hit those. People are excited to see him play forward. I cringe everytime he puts the ball on the floor; he is a steal waiting to happen.
And for God's sake, PJ has got to make him do dunking drills ALL SUMMER LONG!!
For people talking about his room to grow and lifting weights over the summer; he will not change much. He has been in this league for years. He is skinny. He is not mean.
That said, he is more productive than Kwame was and many others would be. He is a definite plus and I too am anxious to see him with AB.
GOOOooOOO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: JohnnyP | July 12, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Long Time Laker Fan,
Thanks a lot for the synopsis.
I appreciate it.
Nice to see Cedric Bozeman and Lorenzo Real-Mata on the roster. I liked both of those guys at UCLA.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | July 12, 2008 at 02:25 PM
Odom's greatest asset is his rebounding. Will he still be getting
10 rebounds a game (almost 3 of them offensive rebounds) if
he's playing more on the wing than in the post? I don't think
so. My guess is that if he keeps up his aggressive rebounding
tendencies, but starts from the wing, it's more like 6 to 7 a
game.
[Sorry but he can attack the glass from the wings. If AB goes into blocking mode then LO can clean up glass or get into passing lane so opposing player has option of getting blocked by AB or passing out and risk TO if lane is cut off. ]
And Odom's greatest weakness is his 3-point shooting. 27% is
pretty pitiful. And hitting the 3-pointer is an important part of
the SF position in the triangle.
[LO needs to develop midrange game and then improve 3 point shooting. at developed mid range game defender will have to run out so either LO cans the mid range or passes to AB in post for easy dunk or alley oop shot. ]
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 11, 2008 at 12:37 PM
-------------------------------
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 08:23 PM
I still think that this is a good deal that benefits both teams. Anybody agree or disagree.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | July 11, 2008 at 03:22 PM
------------
Laker Tom
I respectfully disagree as we lose the stability of level headed LO and more versitile player and gain a headcase. No body knows what RA will show up each night.
Also Bird rights do not follow players. They have to play 3 years with same team to earn them. So if both are traded they in effect will be playing for new team for 1 year before contract expires. No Bird rights.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 09:06 PM
Edwin,
Drew doesn’t need to check with the Lakers doctors. The Loose Cannons are just what they say they are. Drew got a complete go from his doctor who last operated on him and is probably on his way to Atlanta to work with his personal trainer right now. Like Mitch said, the injury will not prevent a contract from being signed. The Lakers will get a great look at Drew in camp and exhibition games to make sure he is fine before inking the big extension.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | July 11, 2008 at 03:32 PM
--------------------
I agree Laker Tom,
Sorry to open old stuff but I have to in order to make point. Remember when Kobe went to Colorado (sorry) and got in trouble? Well the reason he was there was to get surgery and the Lakers knew nothing about this.
Now Drew made his choice of Drs and he did tell Lakers but really didn't need to.
Again training camp, preseason games and all he will be signed if all is well. So I can wait till then but will gladly give my opinion if it is up for civil debate. LOL.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 09:14 PM
I think that Pau was a B+, as the Playoffs progressed I saw that he got more and more fatigued. If he could have been tougher we might have won....
Posted by: Thomas | July 12, 2008 at 09:31 PM
Laker fans say Pau Gasol is weak
During the Finals, sportwriters dumped Pau, he was overpowered and soft.
It is not Pau Gasol, all Lakers are soft including the torn pinky of Kobe.
I say THANK YOU Pau Gasol, if you did not join the Lakers, Lakers will not be a playoff contender and would not beat the Jazz and the Spurs and possibly, we would be with the Suns for the 7th game of the first round playoff berth.
Pau Gasol was the anchor man of Kobe and Pau's presence improved LO's driving to the hoop and won a lot of road games which surely lost them if Kwame was still in the line up. Viva Pau, Viva Catalan but Horray for USA in the Olympics!
Finally, without you Pau Gasol Kobe will opt out his Laker contract at the end of '09 season.
When Pau Gasol learns the tricks of hook shots, pivot moves from the great one, Kareem....move over, Showtime is back with Kobe, Drew & Pau... I will reserve the last one, will it be Artest or Odom?
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 11, 2008 at 04:04 PM
------------------------
Just one point to make. It was not just the media but PJ who called Pau soft. Media picked up on that. Sorry arsed coach who degrades his players in the press.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 09:33 PM
Aloha long Time
Great points on Pau, I might add that Duncan a 50% shooter for the season shot only 42% against Pau.
I would just like to know who these Pau critics think they could get? Duncan and KG are both 1st ballot hall of famers that arent going anywhere. How many Power Forwards out there could have even played center? I mean Carlos Boozer? Pau destroyed him in the playoffs. David West? To small. Who do they want? Amazing.
MH
Posted by: michael h | July 11, 2008 at 04:47 PM
-------------------
I am not a Pau critic but supporter but I have to say this. Yes there was another PF willing and able tp play center......Ronny Turiaff.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 09:49 PM
Make all of the excuses you want, but Gasoft and the Lakers were thoroughly outplayed by the Celtics, period!
For whatever reason, the Western Conference playoffs did not prepare the Lakers for the NBA Finals. How else can you explain them blazing through the playoffs with a 12-3 record before getting manhandled by the hated Celtics?
Also, Bynum played well for a while last season. That's it. Why is everyone so sure he is going to be great?
Posted by: Gasol IS a SOFTIE!!!!!!!!!!! | July 12, 2008 at 09:53 PM
Uh, excuse me. Pau's coach, the legendary Phillip Jackson, called Pau's game soft. And so did many of the the assistant coaches and those in the sports media. I'd say these are authoritative sources.
Lets not be in denial, guys. If you want to try to sell the idea that Pau is a great player, so be it. But it's documented that Pau is a soft player.
That is undeniable.
Posted by: troy | July 11, 2008 at 05:56 PM
-------------------------
You mean the dinosaur PJ and his yes men! The PJ that was outcoached by Doc Rivers? The guy who is lost his touch and yes mind. The know nothing blame everybody else PJ. Yes that is deniable when you consider the source of the backstabbing comments.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 09:59 PM
Artest is different: if you're faster than me, I'm stronger than you; if you're stronger than me, I'm faster than you, and (this is the key point!) THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Respectfully,
HIGH CHEESE
Posted by: HIGH CHEESE | July 11, 2008 at 05:53 PM
-----------------------------
Sorry High Cheese but look at RA against Matt Harpring.
MH beat him both physically and with speed as MH kept moving and RA could not keep up. In fact he tried to flop several times. See for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBx8LSwqRpE
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Just a Laker Fan-
Bird rights refer to a team's ability to resign their own FAs while going over the cap. If the Lakers made the deal, Artest would be one of their FAs, and therefore he'd be able to be resigned (the Lakers are guaranteed to be over the cap at that point). There are some goofy stipulations with it, regarding the length of the contract the player is finishing, whether or not he's recently signed as an FA, and more- but Artest's is fine. He is at the end of a deal he signed with the Pacers before being traded to the Kings. HIs rights transfer. He'll be unrestricted, though, so any team could make an offer.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | July 12, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Compton's Finest,
I agree to what you wished. The contract of Ronny would be very reasonable if:
we can move Luke multiple years
we can move Vlad multiple years
we can move Mihm 2.5M
The reality, we're stucked with them by lock, stock and barrel. I think they are the Laker players forever without saying it on the interview, they are just laughing loud on the inside. They jiffed us big time! lol! Our lakers blog was so effective that the scouts of other team are just reading our comments, no need to watch them on tape, we gave out all the secrets. I think it was also our fault.....LMAO!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | July 11, 2008 at 08:00 PM
---------------------
Actually we need to be creative in getting rid of LWs contract. Mihm has only 1 year left on his. Vlade I say see what he does this year on improving over the summer. Then decide on him.
Hard part is getting rid of Luke. PJs favorite.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 10:17 PM
CAN SOMEONE FRICKEN TELL ME WHO'S ON THE SUMMER LEAGUE TEAM? URUGHELJMF L:KJDSFo:ieumfpeamclsjmpfxijm
This should be a lot simpler.
Screw these crazy trade scenarios. I want to see how Joey Crawford and Coby Karl are doing.
No more "LET'S TRADE FOR GILBERT ARENAS" or something moronic like that.
God....
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | July 11, 2008 at 09:07 PM
---------------------
I posted roster on previous thread but here is another version of list ie same players different link and format.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS 2008 SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER
#
NAME
POS
HT
WT
DOB
SCHOOL
Y
1
Cedric Bozeman
G
6-6
220
03-07-83
UCLA
1
25
Pat Calathes
F
6-10
210
12-12-85
St. Josephs
R
15
Nik Caner-Medley
F
6-8
240
10-20-83
Maryland
R
12
Joe Crawford
G
6-5
207
06-17-86
Kentucky
R
26
Bryant Dunston
F
6-9
250
05-28-86
Fordham
R
20
Sharrod Ford
F
6-9
235
09-09-82
Clemson
1
21
Taj Gray
F
6-9
230
03-14-84
Oklahoma
R
23
Davon Jefferson
F
6-7
215
11-03-86
USC
R
11
Coby Karl
G
6-5
210
06-08-83
Boise State
1
9
Marcelus Kemp
G
6-5
210
05-18-84
Nevada
R
22
Yi Li
F
6-9
210
11-07-85
Nanjing (CBA)
R
31
Lorenzo Mata-Real
F
6-9
245
02-27-86
UCLA
R
3
Dwayne Mitchell
G
6-5
210
08-24-82
La Lafayette
R
5
Brian Roberts
G
6-2
175
12-03-85
Dayton
R
35
Michael Southhall
C
6-10
260
03-29-82
La Lafayette
R
10
James White
G/F
6-6
195
10-21-82
Cincinnati
1
HEAD COACH: Dan Panaggio (SUNY-Brockport)
ASSISTANT COACHES:Chucky Brown (North Carolina State), Rasheed Hazzard (George Washington)
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Marco Nunez (Cal Poly Pomona)
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 10:25 PM
>>>Phillip Jackson, called Pau's game soft.
Phil frequently will say things about players to motivate them.
I'm guessing Phil said that after game 1 or 2 of the Boston series
to get Pau (and Lamar) to play harder, which they did.
But here's another quote from Phil (from sportingnews)
about Pau Gasol:
"... that perhaps that had been carried with him, that
perhaps he was not a center, he was more of a forward
type of player," Jackson said. "He wasn't tough enough or
powerful enough to be a center.
"But he's constantly risen to the occasion in every series
that we've gone through this year. I find it remarkable
how well he's played. I mean, he's really taken the
challenge and played very well."
Phil slinging out a zinger in a post-game conference proves
nothing. Phil in an interview discussing the player is more
indicative of his overall opinion.
"Soft" is an arbitrary epithet that has no quantifiable
method of proving it other than consensus opinion. If EVERYBODY
thinks a particular player is "soft", then they are. If there are
a small minority who think someone is soft, then they clearly
aren't.
In a way it's like judging art. If 100 people say a particular
painting is artistic and you say it's "garbage", that doesn't
make it garbage.
If "soft" could be measured, then surely you could provide us
with the facts proving that Pau is soft. Since it can't be measured,
but is merely a subjective opinion, you can't prove it.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 10:03 AM
------------------------
Sorry but respectfully disagree. PJ is an idiot to say what he does to humiliate (motivate?) players. That is the stuff you do in the locker room and not in the press. PJ is just an outdated idiot who intentionally creates havoc on his teams in order to manipulate them. He should try straight up support, ie you play harder and I got your back. Listen to the coaches as what we want you to do. In end you will be rewarded and become better player. Maybe he should try those head games.
Coach in the locker room and floor and not in the press.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 10:47 PM
AK,
>>>That trade would be illegal by CBA rules. There's a 3
>>>mil limit to how much cash you can throw into a trade to
>>>make the numbers work. You would need at least 4-5
>>>(doing the math in my head) for this one.
And cash has nothing to do with salary matching. It's just
there as a bonus incentive from one team to the other.
Using hoopshype's numbers, Lamar makes $14,559,00.
To match that, Sacramento would have to include somewhere
between $11,567,200 and $18,198,750 in total salaries.
Ron Artest makes $8,450,000. So Sacramento would need
to add in total salaries worth somewhere between $3,117,200
and $9,748,750. Those numbers assume that ONLY Lamar
is included in the trade.
Note that Sacramento (and most people) think that Ron Artest
is a better player than Lamar Odom. It's a subjective opinion
and you're welcome to disagree, but I think most people think
Ron-Ron is better than Lamar.
Thus Sacramento would expect some additional benefit
in the trade than just Lamar. What sort of benefit would
they want?
1. good young cheap players to team up with Kevin Martin:
- Bynum
- Farmar
- Ariza
- Vujacic
- Turiaf (too late to include him)
2. Dumping off the salary of an unproductive player:
- Kenny Thomas
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim
3. Cash is always nice (as AK pointed out, $3 million is max)
4. expiring contracts (for their ongoing contracts):
- Mihm
- Ariza
- Farmar
- Bynum
5. draft picks
That's about it.
What they don't want:
1. big long contracts from players who have underproduced:
- Walton
- Radmanovic
So here's the way you play the trade game...
The core of the trade is Odom for Artest. That trade is slightly
imbalanced in favor of the Lakers. So you must add someting
to the trade on either side to try to make it more balanced.
Note that if you add a productive player (say Mikki Moore or
John Salmons to match salary), then you've made the trade
MORE imbalanced in favor of the Lakers, so you must add
even more on the Lakers side to balance it out.
Have at it. See what you can come up with. AK already
proposed leaving Odom out of the trade and making it Farmar
and Ariza and Mihm, which probably is realistic.
If you don't want to trade Odom, try cooking up a trade for
Gasol instead. Note that in that case, Gasol is better than
Odom, so now the trade starts out biased in favor of the Kings,
so you need to give more back from the Kings to the Lakers.
If you don't want to do the math yourself, try the trade machine:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/trademachine
It will do all the 125% + $100,000 calculations for you, so
all you have to do is pick the players and see if it works.
Some side issues to think about wrt the trade:
- Lakers would prefer not to add much (if any) salary, so
if you can make the salaries matching, or the Lakers
taking back less salary than they are sending out, that's
a big plus from the Lakers perspective
- Kings are kinda weak at the point guard, so Farmar would
be doubly desirable to them (promising young PG, expiring
contract).
- If you're taking away their excellent SF, it would be nice
to get a promising young SF back in the deal, so Ariza would
also be doubly desirable to them (promising young SF,
expiring contract)
- If you add Bynum in the deal, you've swung it WAY in the
favor of the Kings (and you will be soundly beaten).
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | July 12, 2008 at 10:57 AM
-----------------------
No way would I do this trade. First I think LO is better than RA. To throw in TA is ludicrous as TA is level headed (non crazy) defender and is younger.
Just say no to trades for RA and see if he can be added as FA next year without us losing anyone. Smarter move!
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | July 12, 2008 at 10:52 PM
i am very much intrigued by what if the gasol brothers could play together in LA. If bynum cant fit into the lakers salary plan because of his asking price why not trade him to memphis for marc gasol?
Posted by: jus10 | July 13, 2008 at 01:22 PM
i am very much intrigued by what if the gasol brothers could play together in LA. If bynum cant be fitted into the lakers salary plan why not trade him to memphis for marc gasol?
Posted by: jus10 | July 13, 2008 at 04:41 PM
I can't wait for you idiots to trade Lamar Odom and realize how integral he was to this team. Artest is a better defender and three-point shooter than Odom...and thats about it. Artest will never be able to fill the stat sheet like odom. Our fastbreak without Odom, screwed. By trading Odom for Artest, every Kings fan will love us finally. If thats our goal, good job. I was getting tired of hearing the cowbells anyway.
Posted by: BleedPurpleandGold | July 14, 2008 at 08:56 AM
pau gasol and his idiotic teammates should be kicked out of beijing olympics. how can you insult people of china when you there playing basketball? obviously he's just a complete idiot and an ignorant racist ! as a long time lakers fan, i would ask GM Mitch K to trade him, we do NOT need another racist in wonderful city of LA ! Asians made up of 30% of population in LA, that last thing we need is a Spanish racist playing for the Lakers.
Posted by: Jason7788 | August 13, 2008 at 01:57 PM
Who was the leading scorer on Andrew Bynum's High School Basketball team at St Joseph's?
Posted by: Jay Thomas | January 25, 2009 at 09:33 PM