I am steadfast in my resolve: The Gasol-to-Lakers deal is not the lopsided, slam-dunk finals contender-making deal most people think it will be. What Memphis gets out of this depends on what they turn the draft picks into… and how Crittenton turns out.
And Pau Gasol does, in fact, make the Lakers better… but still only better offensively. They’re the 3rd highest scoring team in the league… did they need more scoring? What the Lakers, the team that gives up the 8th-most points in the league, needed was defense. And it seem they had a chance to not only shore up their front-line… they could have done it with Ben Wallace:
Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he believes the Bulls should be willing to pay the NBA’s luxury tax and said he traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday in part because he was worried the Lakers were ready to make a deal to acquire Ben Wallace.
Wallace isn’t doing in Chicago what he used to do with Detroit… but that’s because Chicago is in a bit of disarray offensively. LA’s offense is a bit more defined. And once Andrew Bynum returns… there’s no need for another option on offense. Wallace is the tough defender and rebounder that LA lacks. The stopper in the middle. The fly swatter. Pau Gasol doesn’t give them that. In fact, he gives them almost the opposite.
And let me tell you this: A line up of Fisher, Kobe, Bynum, Odom and Wallace scares me A LOT more than Fisher, Kobe, Bynum, Odom and Gasol. The Lakers did get better with the Gasol trade…. but they really blew their chance to make the REAL good deal.
Wallace is a shell of himself. The Lakers are smart for not taking on that huge contract.
I don’t think that’s true. I think he’s lost in that Chicago mess.
wow redsarmy r u serious man taking ben Wallace would be a stupid move ever cause ben does not make them finals contender but gasol defense aint that bad either he alters shot hits the board and with bynum back think of all the defensive boards lakers will get with Odom, Bynum, and Gasol
Trust me, he’s toast. If they could’ve swung any deal to get a shorter contract from the Lakers, it’d be a hell of a move.
You east-coast biased idiot bloggers don’t know shit about NBA talent. Wallace over Gasol? Yer a fuckin’ moron. Money and production favor Gasol.
And it’s PAU not PAUL.
Yeah, John, Gasol is a MUCH better fit in LA than Wallace. I’d let this one go.
Hey,no disrespect whatsoever but i smell a hidden jealousy in what wou have written. Wallace has passed his prime years and from what i saw he is not the tough defender once he was.More importantly, what we need now is a big man with a solid,consistent inside game and Gasol will (hopefully) provides us with that. It will stretch the opponent defenses, which will create more spaces for Kobe to perform. This trade already has raised the general morale level of the Lakers team, and sure we will win at least two titles in the next 5 years.
Wallace over Gasol? Yeah, okay buddy.. Not only does he cost more.. the dude is way out of his prime.. he averages 4 and 8.. with 1.68 blocks compared to Gasol’s 19-9-1.4 blocks. And Big Ben shoots 36%! Unacceptable for a big man! You have got to be kidding me!!!
I disagree.
Gasol averages almost two blocks a game. That’s “almost two blocks” that the Lakers didn’t have before. There’s some defense to be had there. Let’s also consider the fact that anyone going to the basket is going to have to contend with two seven foot and one 6′9″ player. Since defense is best played as a team, there’s going to be more blocks to be had.
Being in L.A., all I can do is watch Lakers and Clippers games, and based on what I’ve seen, the Lakers didn’t need a defensive stopper in the middle. They needed someone with some post skills that can spread the defense out on offense more than anything else.
Gasol is going to open up the court. If you’ve watched the Lakers play with some regularity, you’d notice that Bynum has been seeing double teams as well as Kobe.
With Pau in there, the visiting defense is going to have to make some very interesting decisions. Not enough players to address all the players and their respective skillsets.
Hell, the Lakers could still move Odom… or keep him and improve in the off season. That team would be very attractive to a free agent looking to win some games.
-Ben Wallace is a great defender, but his contract is ridiculous given his one-sided talents. Also, he’s not exactly the best locker-room influence. Remember, this is a guy who’s complained about the # of touches he’s gotten, as well as making a fiasco out of an issue centered on HEADBANDS.
-Pau is not a great defender, but he does average 1.5-2 blocks per game, and that is a great starting point if you don’t think that’s his peak. Furthermore, being an agile, long, 7footer has some intrinsic defensive benefits, such as being capable of being a decent help defender (which Kwame never was). If the Lakers can emulate something like the Spurs used to do with the Twin Towers strategy, using Kobe or Odom to funnel an opposing sg/sf into the twin towers, that would be a real boon.
-Finally, remember that when the Celtics only had Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, defense was still a major, major concern even if offense wasnt. It wasn’t until the addition of a All-NBA defensive 1st teamer, last name Garnett first name Kevin, that the Celtics had a legit shot at being a defensive-minded team. And the team’s defense has been just that–TEAM defense, no the 1on1 defensive scheme that, say, the Pistons have. Bynum is a decent defender and Kobe is a great defender (when he isn’t carrying the entire team on his back). We’ll make something out of Pau. Sounds kind of like the Celtics situation pre-season, doesn’t it?
Ben’s contract is only a million and a half more than Pau’s.. and it comes off the books a year earlier.
We’ll see how it all plays out. I still question how this trade will work out… and I don’t think it addresses LA’s real needs.
Well, on this primary day, I count 9 votes to 1 in favor of Gasol.
been a long time laker fan and i try to stay unbiased… while i do agree that it doesn’t necessarily put the lakers into the ‘championship contender’ category, i do think it makes them better. pau’s pretty soft as far as big men go, but even then, he’s much better than kwame. for only $4 million more they’re getting at least 3-4x the productivity – and let’s be realistic, the luxury tax to jerry buss is like our morning coffee
kwame’s supposed strength was his ability to be a low post defender (and not weakside help) – yes he was strong and could slow down a back to the bucket center, but his help side D was non existent. on top of that, he could never play alongside bynum since he didn’t have a face up game. i just don’t see how three 6′10″+ guys up front is going to hurt the lakers since they’re all decently athletic. maybe his european softness comes out after half a season… it’s still a better situation than having nobody (turiaf’s great but he’s not a true center) to back up bynum if he goes down again. mihm’s contract comes off the books next season so salary wise it’s basically a wash for the lakers
the lakers got better here by subtraction – same case as the smush parker non-signing. (math isn’t always right)
Did you see the way having Gasol and Kobe on the floor spread out the defense? Radmanovic hit open 3 after open 3, same with Fish who had 28 points. Pau is an amazing passer, even better than Odom. Those two will also clean up the boards, as LO had 15 and Pau had 12. 24-12, 15-15, 16-5 from our front line? Just wait till Bynum comes back! Gasol did look a little lost on help defense, which hopefully he will improve on, but he did alter lot of shots and got rebounds. Gasol’s impact on offense greatly outweighs the help Wallace would have brought on defense, not to mention Gasol is much better at defense than Wallace is at offense (he is horrendous- I actually think he is a shorter, quicker, higher-jumping version of Kwame, and nothing more). What the Lakers really needed was a back-to-the-basket big man who could command double teams and pass (he is much better offensively than Bynum), and that is exactly what they got.
YEAH..LAKERS Rock!
Big “Dumb” Ben is so inefficient that no one would take his huge contract..And Pau is way off better than that moron…
Wallace is downhill and overpayed. Kobe and Ariza both had monster dunk posters over Wallace anyway.
Gasol can complement Bynum, since Gasol has more of a face up, mid-to-high post game. Bynum is a traditional back-to-the-basket low post center a la Shaq, Wilt, Kareem. Wallace will get in Bynum’s way. Wallace would become a backup center since he is not good enough to be the starter over Bynum.
Wallace cannot provide double-team relief for Kobe since Wallace has no offense. Wallace with Kobe is like Varajeo with Lebron James: Wallace and Varajeo will be left wide-open for bricks.
Gasol can ease some pressure off of Kobe with Gasol’s basketball IQ and offensive skills. Gasol and Kobe have so much chemistry together on offense, already! Teams cannot run hard double or triple teams on Kobe without getting punished for it. Gasol and Bynum can catch and score from Kobe’s dribble penetration. Kwame could not catch the ball without fumbling it out of bounds.
Lakers are a potential dynasty.
Let me ask everyone this:
When Gasol was in Memphis… no one considered him a mega star or anything….
why did he suddenly become the missing piece to a dynasty?
Pfff whoever wrote this stupid article is a fool. Wallace>Gasol….What are you gonna say next? Heat>Pistons? Damn You idiots dont know shit about basketball. Look we are 1st in the west with pau ok. If wallace was here we’d be 5th-6th.
HAHA Everyone watch The C’s get owned Friday?
Suns Suck, how do you loose to the suns.