Pau Gasol

[pupsingh]

If he is made available by the lakers, what do you think it would take to get him? I think his passing ability would really help us since our guards dont seem to pass very much. Also would provide some veteran experience and cousins has said in the past that he has tried to model some of his game after pau. Obviously i woultnt offer tyreke or cuz for him but do you think we could put together a package that la would want?

[Bricklayer]

Thought of starting this thread myself, on the theory that Jerry has always gushed over him and we might look at him as a new Vlade figure to pair and tame Cuz/Webb. Except Pau might be on the way down. With a 19mil a year contract.

And because of that 19mil a year contract, and the Lakers title hopes, what we would have to do is offer them a bunch of expensive bench depth to shore up their weakness. JT at 6mil and Salmons at 8mil and likely a PG -- Jimmer would help with the matching $$ and has some Steve Blakeness, but D'Antoni might prefer IT etc. etc. In any case, our best offer would be our expensive midlevel contacted vets. And then the question is would that be worth it? Would Pau bounce back? Or would we be bringing in an unenergetic skill guy on the way down who would need more shots than all those roleplayers we traded out? Like I say, I thought about starting a thread too -- there is a thought there. But I am not at all sure of the outcome, or if the Lakers could be interested wiht something less than a star type coming back given the deals they allegedly turned down for Pau just last year.

[Chupacabra]

I dont want a player like Pau next to Cousins. I think the perfect player next to Cousins is Serge Ibaka. Cousins is the skill guy. Lastly and most importantly, if the Kings made a huge trade like this with the Lakers my head would explode. Beloved kings players from the past would become hated lakers players. I would feel dirty if i saw Gasol in a Kings jersey. I would probably start taking alot more showers to rid myself of the disgusting laker stench.

[bajaden]

I dont want a player like Pau next to Cousins. I think the perfect player next to Cousins is Serge Ibaka. Cousins is the skill guy. Lastly and most importantly, if the Kings made a huge trade like this with the Lakers my head would explode. Beloved kings players from the past would become hated lakers players. I would feel dirty if i saw Gasol in a Kings jersey. I would probably start taking alot more showers to rid myself of the disgusting laker stench.

LOL! I don't have the same feelings about players that played for the Lakers, or for any other team for that matter. If they can make the team better, bring them on. Now whether Gasol could make us better is up for grabs. If there's still some of the old Gasol there, then yes, he could really help. He's what the team needs. Veteran experience from a player that has a ring on his finger. More than that, Cousins has said in the past that one of the players he looks up to and models him game after is Pau Gasol.

So the major questions are, how much would we have to give up, and how much does Gasol have left in the tank. Perhaps I should remind everyone thats forgotten, that when Petrie made his big signing of Vlade, there were many who thought his best days were far behind him. I don't think we would need Gasol to be the player he was 3 or 4 years ago. What we would need from him is leadership, and to bring some stability to the team. Very similiar to what Vlade brought.

Vlade wasn't a 20 pt, 10 rebound a game guy when he played for us, but the intangibles he brought were priceless. He did have a smaller contract however. Well, maybe if you adjusted it with inflation, it might come closer.

[upinsmoke]

He makes to much money and appears to be on the decline as of late. I would pass on him and keep the lakers on the hook for his contract.

[bajaden]

He makes to much money and appears to be on the decline as of late. I would pass on him and keep the lakers on the hook for his contract.

I certainly can't argue the money part. He does make a lot of money! But I'm not sure yet we can say he's in decline. He is 32 years old, and Vlade was 30 years old when we aquired him. Gasol's two seasons prior to this one, were pretty good. He averaged 10 plus rebounds a game and around 16 to 17 points a game in both of them. This year his rebounding is still up there at just over 9 boards a game, but his points are down a little at just over 13 PPG. However, he's also taking fewer shots per game and his percentages are still good. So the question is, is he really in decline, or is he still figuring out how to play with Howard, who, I might add, is having a far worse year than Gasol, and I don't see anyone saying he's in decline.

The problem is the contract. On which there is one more year after this one for around the same amount. But if you could get them to take Salmons, Cisco, and perhaps Hayes off our team, then it becomes a push salary wise. I think Salmons and Hayes would actually help their bench. Cisco is an ender to fill out the trade. It wouldn't have to be those guys. I just used them as an example.

Here's the problem as I see it. Why would the Lakers trade Gasol when they have no guarantee that Howard is going to sign with them at years end. Its possible that he game them a verbal assurance, but thats worth the paper its written on. Oh wait, its not written if its verbal, is it? Mark Cuban is going to throw the bank at Howard, and I'm sure he won't be the only one. If they keep Gasol they guarantee they have someone that can play the center position in case negotiations fall apart with Howard. Of course I'm just on the outside looking in.

[King Baller]

Pau Gasol looks a lot better when your total roster salary is 100 mill like the Lakers Not so much when its in the fifties like the Kings.

Two rules Kings GM should live by:
1) Never trade Big for Small if talent is equal.
2) Never trade with the Lakers.

KB

[macadocious]

He has this year and next left on his contract. If we traded JT, Salmons Garcia and IT for him and Ebanks we shed salmons Contract and a slightly overpaid JT and an underpaid IT.

Starting

CUZ
Pau
JJ
Evans
Brooks

Bench
TRob
Hayes
Jimmer
Thorton
Ebanks

Deep Bench
Honeycut
Outlaw
random pick up

We finally have structure to our team. Pau can stretch the bigs with his shot which can make up for JJ and Tyreke poor shooting in the starting O. It also frees up a lot of salary two years from now. Not sure if all the moving parts work pefectly, but I think I would do that. Helps us consolidate talent and salary.

[swisshh]

Gasol's contract doesn't worry me. There's only two years left on the contract and that makes him an attractive expiring in the coming year if his play level doesn't match expectations. He provides veteran leadership and talent. Basically, he's a vet that can demand the ball and have presence on the court. The Kings keep getting vets that are bench role players and really can't demand the ball on the court when things get out of hand.

Gasol's off year doesn't bug me in the matter of worrying if his skills are in decline. I think Pau has never liked being Kobe's b*tch. Never liked taking the fall when Kobe dominates the ball and nearly shoots them out of games. Probably doesn't like that he and Odom were the reasons Kobe got his post-Shaq rings and Kobe takes all the credit. I think he's just tired of Kobeville on some level and doesn't want to admit it to the LA public. So i think he's mentally tired and a change of scenery would do him good.

What worries me is that he's been playing with tendinitis in his knees and whether or not his knees are breaking down.

He is expensive salary cap wise, but you could maybe get him by offering bench help. If you get two or three good seasons out of him and dump his salary or use his expiring as trade bait then I think it's a good move. I think it helps Cuz out a lot as well.

[Bricklayer]

I have changed my mind on how this is going to go down, as the pressure mounts on the Lakers to make a move, and it makes too much "sense" in the old classic blundering wnnabe Sacramento Kings way as a way for our attention starved owners to try desperatelyto make a spalsh and be talked about again.

Thing is D'Antoni is in town, and frankly Jamison looks more comfortabel to him than a big frontcourt, because, of course and all that. Will want open court players, scorers. The Lakers being the Lakers are going to have to sell it to their fanbase, and from a practical sense are going to have one eye over thier shoulders to the post Kobe era if this doesn't work.

Accordingly this is my new prediction:

Salmons $8.1
Robinson $3.4
Fredette $2.4
Outlaw (our pound of flesh) $3.0
----------------------------------------
$16.9

for

Gasol $19mil

TRob will be Jamison's protegee and they'll pitch it as Amare of the future. Jimmer will be behind Nash/Blake and they'll pitch it as Nash's protege. Salmons may be the real find as their solid roleplaying Kobe/Metta backup. Outlaw will just look like the veteran bench fodder top teams have, but is really just a salary matcher. They'll all be benchers, but will look like a step up from the Dariuses and Earl Clarks and Robert Sacre's they'll jettison to make room. It will leave us shy a player unless we take back one of those scrubs. We'll call up Honeycutt just to fill out the roster. Who knows, maybe we really will sign Mike Bibby out of retirement to be the extra PG body.

[mac]

I have changed my mind on how this is going to go down, as the pressure mounts on the Lakers to make a move, and it makes too much "sense" in the old classic blundering wnnabe Sacramento Kings way as a way for our attention starved owners to try desperatelyto make a spalsh and be talked about again.

Thing is D'Antoni is in town, and frankly Jamison looks more comfortabel to him than a big frontcourt, because, of course and all that. Will want open court players, scorers. The Lakers being the Lakers are going to have to sell it to their fanbase, and from a practical sense are going to have one eye over thier shoulders to the post Kobe era if this doesn't work.

Accordingly this is my new prediction:

Salmons $8.1
Robinson $3.4
Fredette $2.4
Outlaw (our pound of flesh) $3.0
----------------------------------------
$16.9

for

Gasol $19mil

TRob will be Jamison's protegee and they'll pitch it as Amare of the future. Jimmer will be behind Nash/Blake and they'll pitch it as Nash's protege. Salmons may be the real find as their solid roleplaying Kobe/Metta backup. Outlaw will just look like the veteran bench fodder top teams have, but is really just a salary matcher. They'll all be benchers, but will look like a step up from the Dariuses and Earl Clarks and Robert Sacre's they'll jettison to make room. It will leave us shy a player unless we take back one of those scrubs. We'll call up Honeycutt just to fill out the roster. Who knows, maybe we really will sign Mike Bibby out of retirement to be the extra PG body.

And we end up with two softies in Cousins and Pau who don't bring it every night. But I suppose it's still worth it considering what we're giving up

[Hadlowe]

Really, though, Pau is a level-headed guy and may be exactly what Cousins needs in a mentor, both to refine Cousins' low post game and to scale back the temper tantrums. Who on the team as currently assembled can Cousins look up to? Pau is a flopper and a whiner but knows when to cut it out in order to avoid technicals. That's a neat trick in the modern NBA, and one that would serve Cousins well.

Still, I don't trust Smart to design and implement an offense with two post scorers, so I doubt bringing Pau fixes anything with how the team plays. We still don't make the playoffs this year.

[UK_King]

Gasol knees are crumbling.

you can bet if that fantasy trade above went down Jimmer and Trob would become All Stars and carry the lakers to multiple titles while we watch Gasol sit out game after game after game injured then retire.

Then he'd make a come back, re-join the lakers and put up career numbers guiding the Lakers to another title alongside flourishing stars Jimmer and Trob, Travis Outlaw would also make a miraculous career revitalisation shooting 69% from three breaking Kyle Korvers record.

[Sac.1989]

Gasol enjoys mediocrity. If it wasnt for playing in LA and kobe he wouldnt be pushed as hard as he is. Hes not the leader we need. He'd settle and ride out his contract here happily.

[rainmaker]

I'd love Gasol next to Cuz, but a problem I see with these proposals is LA wants a stretch 4 next to D12, and Ryan Anderson is their target, if rumors are to be believed.

But another rumor is Pau for Amare, and I do see some similarities between Trob and Amare. If TRob would play a little better maybe it's an option.

[panda]

Last I read, the Lakers can't trade Pau, at least not yet. Sure it is just a rumor, but it sounds like a mistake this years Lakers would make.

Ric Bucher and his source explain:

“Source: Ignore any and all trade talk about Pau Gasol because the Lakers landed Steve Nash by promising him he would get to play with Gasol. Nash made it a prerequisite for passing on offers from Toronto and the Knicks that Pau would be around, the source said. Such prerequisites from an incoming star aren’t that unusual — Chris Paul made similar personnel demands as part of his agreement to be dealt to the Clippers. (In Paul’s case, he wanted assurance that LAC would do whatever was necessary to retain restricted FA DeAndre Jordan.) Conceivably, once Nash gets back and actually plays with Gasol, the Lakers could continue to struggle and Nash re-thinks his position. But as of right now, one of the enticements that brought Nash to LA was the big Spaniard and the organization would have much bigger problems than they already have if they backtracked on their promise to keep Gasol in the fold.”

[Kingster]

Giving up a deal that includes Robinson for Gasol is an act of desperation. Maybe an understandable act of desperation, but desperation it is. Remember Gasol at Memphis? That's the Gasol we would be getting. He's an old 32. There are a lot of miles on that tread. And he's not a leader. Never has been. He's a fine player for a veteran team that needs an edge to take it to the next level for a short time, but not for our group.

[sidney]

Calderon + Bargnani for Gasol seems too perfect for Dantoni's offense. I doubt we're interested in Pau