Pau Gasol Trades That Should’ve Happened Yesterday, But Need to Happen Tomorrow.
There are a slew of surprise teams in the first month and a
half of the season.
We’ve got the
Eastern Conference best New York Knicks coming off some quality blow out wins
including the Lakers at home (more on them later) and shellacking the Heat in
Miami without Melo. How about the Golden
State Warriors being in playoff positioning this deep in the season? Ellis left and Bogut has yet to appear much
and when he does play meaningful minutes.
The Warriors have been resilient throughout and have many people asking “Wait
their among the top teams in the West?” when checking the daily standings. Props to Memphis and Atlanta for disappointing
fans a season ago, to being one of the top teams in their respective
conferences and giving some great hope back in the deep south. Then there are teams that we’re surprised are
this competitive without a marquee talent in the lineup, like the Bobcats,
Magic, Timberwolves and Mavericks.
Then of course there are some serious disappointments. Now
for the sake of time we won’t go into the different levels of which teams are
more disappointing than others. Sure the
Sixers, Pacers and Nuggets probably thought they’d be one of the better teams
in their respective conferences, but due to major injuries (Bynum and Granger)
or getting acquainted (Welcome to Denver Iggy) their respective records seem
about right at this point of time.
When we talk serious disappointments two teams come to mind:
Los Angeles Lakers (probably clearly number one given their buzz) and the
Toronto Raptors.
Let’s focus with the Lakers since they clearly have more
buzz and that will allow people to hopefully place a freakin comment at the
bottom of the post.
First let’s start with what we already know. We know there were major changes to the
roster (Nash, Howard) and now major injuries (Gasol, Nash). We can’t simply dismiss these injuries though
or blame their recent struggles on it.
First, when you sign a 39 year old point guard, you have to expect
endurance and health to be some concerns there.
The Lakers failed to address a large need in the off-season, backup point
guard, to fill in the gap when the inevitable time off for Nash was going to
occur.
Now to Pau Gasol.
Now as you many of you may or may not now, I’m a huge Pau
Gasol fan. He consistently has a high
TS% season in-season out, always among the top 5 power forwards with a usage
rate (% of possessions that player occupies when on the floor) of at least 20%
and 20 MPG. Also he’s an above average
rebounder (Total Rebounding Rate - % of rebounds a player collects when on the
floor, average for a 4 is 18%, he’s usually between 18 – 20%) and perhaps most
importantly, a willing passer with an assist rate (% of possessions that end in
an assist) ranking among the top 5 with the aforementioned usage and MPG
criteria. Bottom line, if we were
picking teams there are fewer Power Forwards you’d rather play with than Pau
Gasol.
With most teams a Pau Gasol injury would be a worthy excuse to
being sub .500, but the Lakers are that talented. Kobe and Howard alone should be enough to
have LA in top 4 seeding contention out West.
LA did their roster and Gasol a disadvantage. They brought in an up tempo coach who really
doesn’t play well into Gasol’s strengths (low post/half court) and considering
D’Antoni isn’t going anywhere soon, are better off trading him. The Lakers need help at backup point, more
speed up front and more shooting all-around.
The Lakers also have a huge issue with depth so a 1 for 2 deal is
probably what the aim should be in a trade Pau Gasol endeavor.
First, who should be interested?
Really, everybody except teams that are real
deep at the 4/5 like the Grizzlies, or those that are in pure rebuilding mode
like a slew of bottom cellars (too many to list).
Second, who has a package that gives the Lakers at least
three of the four items we mentioned they need (speed up front, backup point
guard, shooting and depth) and could do a 2 for 1 move themselves. Honing in further, what teams see an
opportunity by landing Gasol and feel he may be the missing piece of a deep
playoff run?
Okay here’s who I got, Golden State, Boston, Toronto, New
York, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
Now let’s quickly sketch out what a likely trade would look
like with these teams maybe a quick snippet why for each and then determine the
one that makes most sense for all teams.
Golden State: David Lee and Jarret Jack for Pau Gasol
and Chris Duhon
Why for LA? Lee knows
Mike’s system and flourished in it a few seasons ago (hence why he has his
current contract) and Jack provides much needed support behind Nash and
encompasses many of the qualities (strong pick and roll play) that are
successful in a Mike D’Antoni offense.
Why for GSW? When are the Warriors not seemingly desperate
to make the playoffs? They have had a
strong start this season, but unless they want to be a one and done, may want
to think about consolidating pieces for the versatile Gasol. Pau gives the Warriors a much needed post presence
with Bogut out and could propel Golden State for a deep playoff run.
Boston: Jeff Green, Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee for
Pau Gasol
Why for LA? Hello
depth! The Lakers need some quality
bodies really everywhere and these 3 can play 30+ MPG when someone gets hurt
and/or play multiple positions in LA.
Why for Boston? With
Sullinger playing well and Bradley slated to come back soon there isn’t much of
a need for Bass or Lee on the roster.
Losing Green may hurt, but if it means giving an already strong half
court team an added talent that may help them dethrone Miami, they likely jump.
Toronto: Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon for Pau
Gasol
Why for LA? Pretty much exactly what they need in a trade:
strong shooting and a strong backup point who can excel in a pick and roll
offense.
Why for Toronto? The
Raptors don’t own their pick and need to go for a playoff run to avoid several
front office job losses. Toronto in
general is simply missing intelligent basketball players who can help the youth
play smarter on the court. Pau is
perhaps one of the wisest players in the league and should instill a much
needed culture change up north.
New York: Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert for Pau
Gasol
Why for LA? Like with Lee, STAT knows Mike’s system and
dominated in it with two situations (Phoenix of course and the Knicks prior to
Melo coming aboard). Also, who wouldn’t
want to witness the Mike-STAT-Nash reunion: the twilight years. Finally, Iman is the man. Shumpert can play both guard slots and
relieves some major duties that Kobe needs to fulfill on the defensive end.
Why for NY? The Knicks are on the cusp and seem so-close to
contention. The Heat still have superior
overall talent and would be a tough matchup for New York if they ever met up in
a potential Eastern Conference Finals showdown.
Adding Gasol would take advantage of Miami’s biggest weakness, low post
defense, and could make the Knicks…gasp…favorites to win the title in 2012, why
wait any longer?
Minnesota: Nikola Pekovic, JJ Barea and Derrick
Williams for Pau Gasol
Why for LA? It comes
back to depth. Barea is another great
fit for a D’Antoni system and Pekovic gives much needed support at the backup 4/5
while Williams could flourish in an up tempo system and break out from Adelman’s
dog house.
Why for Minny? Rick
Adelman loves passing big men (see Vlade Divac) and adding Gasol could
transform the Wolves into this decade’s Sacramento Kings (honestly who wouldn’t
want to see that). Such a move could
propel the Wolves higher up in the conference and if nothing else give further
exposure to the Timberwolves. Pekovic is
also a pending free agent and is expecting a large pay day if he stays with the
Wolves. Is he worth 70 million? If the Wolves don’t think so, dealing him now
and losing the risk of overpaying him is a sound option.
Brooklyn: Kris Humphries, Marshon Brooks and CJ
Watson for Pau Gasol and Chris Duhon
Why for LA? The Lakers get some nice talent in all areas of
weakness on the roster. You want hustle
4s who can run and rebound, yep we got that.
A wing who can spell Kobe a bit and add much needed talent to the 2nd
unit, sure. A quality backup point who
play with Mike’s system (sort of) and maybe versatile enough to play multiple
guard slots, why not.
Why for BK? Is there an NBA team more currently desperate to
make a playoff run than the Nets? With Lopez in and out of the lineup, the Nets
need another low post talent who can also facilitate the offense and relieve some
pressure on D-Will. Pau does that and,
like the case with the Knicks, may then have the added talent necessary to take
a stab at beating the Heat.
Atlanta: Josh Smith and Devin Harris FOR Pau Gasol
and Chris Duhon
Why for LA? Smith may be the best 4 for a D’Antoni offense
and Harris has another shot at resurgence in a D’Antoni offense.
Why for ATL? Gasol may allow Horford to shift to the 4 and
as mentioned with every other Eastern team on the list, perhaps give the Hawks
some more bite to make a deep run in the playoffs and become the Grizzlies of
the East.
Milwaukee: Drew Gooden, Ekpe Udoh, Mike Dunleavy and
Beno Udrih for Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill
Why for LA? Depth, shooting, hey a new one: cap space.
Why for Milwaukee: How bad do they want to make the
playoffs? Getting Gasol does that, but are they willing to unload cap and
decent prospects to do so?
Philadelphia: Thad Young, Jason Richardson and Dorell
Wright for Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks and Devin Ebanks
Why for LA? Shooting, speed at the 4, need I say more?
Why for Philly? Reuniting Gasol and Bynum with the rest of
Philly’s young core still means promise down the road and dominance more immediately.
So what’s your favorite Gasol trade? Comment below. My take?
I like them all and hear all cases.
The one that makes the most sense?
Probably Golden State, I mean they were mentioned first on the list for
a reason.
Be a leader, comment below…not on Facebook.
Happy Chanukah!
