The Pau Pickle

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 2^nd 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!