Lakers trade
 

Pau Gasol & Lamar Odom gone for Chris Paul

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakers...amar-odom.html

As a Laker hater, I love it. I think they will really miss those two guys and they are taking away the huge size advantage that they held over teams. Now, their bench is much weaker with the loss of Odom and unless they get Howard, they are putting all of their eggs in the Bynum basket. That's very risky. Paul has not been exactly the picture of health lately either. I think this worsens them.

As a Laker Fan I agree with you. Bynum is a huge risk! I was never a big fan of Gasol. Getting Howard would be huge - but I doubt it.

Need to find out details like the other players coming to LA.

The problem is Gasol never used his size advantage. He's a soft (but extremely talented) player that virtually shut down in the playoffs last year. Agree with you about Bynum, as I think his health is a major liability. But you forget what a hard time the Lakers had in the playoffs with guards doing what they wanted to against them. With Chris Paul, this isn't going to happen.

At 33 year Kobe can't afford an extended re-build plan.

Knicks look like the will be getting Chandler. Pretty good inside lineup with Chandler, Amare and Mellow.

Supposedly the Paul trade has been nixed by the NBA league office

FTFY

I can't think of much worse PR for the NBA after a lockout than having an NBA controlled team trading its superstar to the big market Lakers.

Really? What should they do? This was a good deal for New Orleans. This fantasy that he makes the team worth more is idiotic. There is zero chance he is staying there regardless of who owns the team. So why not get what you can before you lose all leverage. It isnt like he is going to sign as a FA with a small market team.

The last trade that Pau Gasol was involved was a much bigger trade rape than this.

I agree, and don't really think it was helping the Lakers much either. I'm just talking PR wise with fans, outside of LA, it looks really bad.

I'm a huge Thunder fan. The team was extremely lucky to get two, maybe three, quality draft picks three years running...four if you count Ibaka. Only the fact Durant isn't a big market whore like a lot of these other guys will keep them together. If small market fans don't think there is any chance they can keep stars, they will not be supported for long. That is bad news for the league unless they want to contract to about 6 teams.

I dont think that fans would see this as anything but what it was, a team getting what it could for a player who was going to leave anyway. Lets face it Stern is a puppet at this point. The lockout had zero to do with competitive balance, it had to do with the owners being greedy.

I dont buy that only big markets teams can compete. The Heat thing only came about because Miami had an unusual situation of having virtually no one under contract, a superstar with an expiring contract and 3 star level players willing to play for less than market value. AND they didnt win last year because they still had no room for anything other than bums. The Knicks made all these deals but look at the rest of their roster? It is a joke. OKC did it the right way regardless of market size. They drafted well and got lucky that the Blazers blew it once again. San Antonio showed what a team can do if they are run properly.

Teams that arent very good arent going to retain their players regardless of market size. With the salary cap in place there are only so many destinations that these guys can go to.

In the end we are talking about a guy who averaged 16 and 10 last year and isnt far removed from a knee injury. The NBA looks far worse in nixing this trade than had it gone through. If they arent going to let NO try to run its business in a long term fashion then they should just contract them now.

I get your point and it's a valid one, but Stern never has seemed particularly interested in poor PR. You guys got the former Sonics in your backyard now. The behind the scenes bullsh.it deals that went on to get that team there were borderline criminal.

Plus, since there is a 0% chance Paul resigns with New Orleans, at least they get something for him, instead of just totally losing him.

yahoo sports says other owners basicley went crazy over the NBA dealing him to the Lakers. This entire situation is a mess.
Anyway, how about what I just read. Knicks getting Tyson Chandler with the plan being to give Amare up for CP3.

I didnt see this as poor PR for the NBA in the first place other than by conspiracy theory believers. As a matter of fact I saw it as a net win for the league. NO gets better and one of its under the radar stars gets exposure on the big stage before he starts to decline.

NOW I see it as terrible PR for the NBA. Stern looks like a puppet, the owners look petty and greedy, the Hornets are in a terrible spot, the dominos that fall after a move like this are held up because this is in limbo (surely the NBA players association will file a lawsuit), the players look greedy even if they are simply wanting to play for a better team (Hell NO doesnt even have an owner nor supposedly do they have a suitor) and the Lakers have 2 pissed off players in an already potentially disfunctional situation. Small market teams can compete in the NBA as shown by SA and OKC. Big Market teams can suck for extended periods as shown by the Knicks.

I agree. I really didn't care if the trade went through. I don't even think it would work out well for the Lakers.

It just was never going to fly with a lot of the small market owners, at least at this early stage after the lockout. How do they sell this to fans that they are currently screwing over by cramming games in and making pay for preseason games? The promise from a lot of small market clubs was that the lockout would help make them more competitive. It was always a lie, but they can't renege already.

If they wouldnt let them trade him to LA what makes you think that they will allow them to trade him to NY? Especially since they have to take back a huge contract?

They would get another superstar in return.

Chandler has been playing for contracts the last two years. Good luck with that guy once he inks a long term deal.

I really agree and Im a Knicks fan. Plus if the NBA wont allow the Hornets to trade Paul why not save your money and try signing him after the seasson?? I read 4 years 50 million for Chandler.

One of the good things about the lockout was only 2 preseason games!

One of the biggest myths in sports is that small market NBA teams cant compete. The Bulls havent won a championship since 1998. The Knicks since 1973. The LA Clippers never even make the playoffs. The Nets have never won a NBA championship and made the finals twice since the merger in 1976. Houston hasn't been in the finals in 16 years. The 76'ers have been in the finals 1 time since 1983. The Washington metor area is the 7th most populated in the US but when have the Wizards been relevant?

Since the begining of the supposed heyday of the NBA, 1980 these teams have won chapionships-Lakers 10 times, Boston 4 times, Philadelphia 1 time, Detroit 3 times, Houston 2 times, San Antonio 4 times, the Bulls 6 times, Miami 1 time and Dallas 1 time. 32 years only 9 teams and 3 of them once.
That means that 20 teams including 2 NY teams, 1 LA team and teams from Washington, Phoenix, Atlanta and San Fran bay area have zero championship. Why did the Lakers and Boston and SA win multiple championships? Better management.

Seriously? Do you think an NBA operated team is going to take on Amare's contract? This isnt about basketball, it is about money.

The last year I was at the FG I went to a few of the games that the Hornets played in NO when they were playing most of the games in OKC. The primary players were Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler. Plenty of seats available and I think they were barely a .500 team.

Ok Chuck. Where does Paul end up then? When and where?

Because teams like NY and LA dont have the cap space to sign Paul without moving other pieces out. I don't like the Chandler deal for the reason that CJ stated and because they have an awful backcourt and no depth and less cap space.

I dont know how he doesnt get stuck in NO now. What team is going to deal with NO for Paul not knowing if a. Paul will resign with them or b. risk pissing off core players if the NBA nixes another Paul trade.

If the NBA wont let NO operate like a normal team they should disband them. I'd love to hear what the players association has to say about this.

Another factor is Paul can sign for more if he is traded first and then re-signs with his new team. This is why these guys like him and Anthony push for trades.

You make good points, but maybe what we're all forgetting is real fans already know everything this situation is bringing to light. Stern has always been a puppet. The owners have always been petty and greedy. New Orleans has been in a tough spot for years and of course the players want to play for a better team, although being in a city like LA or Miami helps. I find it hard to believe there would be a big push by players to play in Alaska if they had a team...but that is a whole other conversation.

The people who will be outraged by this are people that don't really pay attention (so who cares?) and greedy owners who don't want to spend the money to bring big talent in.

And in the new agreement they get even more for re'upping than they did before which kind of makes the owners position here even weaker. They should have eliminated sign and trades but they wanted the team losing a player to get something in return. I said last year many times that the Knicks were crazy to trade for Anthony because he was coming to NY regardless. Imagine the team they could have had they not traded some pretty valuable pieces?

You mean stuck in NO this year then someone signs him as a free agent, right?

That is true. I dont see Bucks fans saying "that it, Paul to the lakers, Im out"

The funny thing about the LeBron situation was despite the bad press for him the most outraged people outside of Cleveland were those who dont really follow the game anyway. The league had huge ratings last year and the playoffs were very good from round 1 to the Finals. A huge portion was because of the interest created by LeBron. This is like the anti-LeBron situation. The Hornets arent a draw with Paul and while i'm not convinced that the deal would make the Lakers better the cancellation has made them worse just because you now have 2 key players knowing they were traded and that is Mike Brown on the Bench, not Phil Jackson. The 1st time Pau goes into a funk you can believe that Kobe will be killing him. I dont like the Lakers but the league is a better place when they are relevant. A Paul/Kobe backcourt would be fun to watch though the frontcourt would be potentially woeful if (when?) Bynum goes down.

Yeah. Without serious collusion how can a deal be made now? It is a lose/lose for everyone. The Lakers as explained in the above post arent better, NO has a guy who really doesnt want to be there now AND they will wind up getting very little for him, Houston has guys that know they were traded but arent.... I as an NBA junkie would like to see the revamped NO team and would like to see Paul on the lakers because last years Laker team wasnt very much fun to watch and is more or less the same.

Ok so where does he end up next year. 10 months from now where is he long term?

How can anyone know? There are a lot of things that can happen. Hell in 3 days the NBA is going to look different with all the signings and trades.

I still thinks he ends up a Laker and so does Howard.

I like the NBA also and while I wasn't really too upset they were locked out...all of this talk has me looking forward to the season.

I was looking over some of the schedules today and there are some things you wouldnt see in a regular season. Like the Sixers opening up with 5 straight road games then playing 1 road game in 3 weeks in Jan. And that game is close by in NY.

Battier to the Heat has to be a positive for them. Butler to Clippers is an under the radar move that may wind up being a big deal in the playoffs (yes I did just say the clips will be in the playoffs)
Golden State will be interesting with Mark Jackson as coach
OKC should be even better
Whatwill happen in Boston?
Can SA make 1 last run?
Jimmer and the dysfunctional Kings (yes Joe because he is white and supposedly PG1985 schooled him in CYO league 12 years ago)

Is Kobe still Kobe? If the Lakers get both of them are they better then OK city or Miami anyway? Im not sure they are.

When did I say I schooled Jimmer, wtf??? I was a legend though. 34-17-14-12 was my line 6th grade year of Saint Anthonys.
Anyway, Battier to Miami is gigantic. He is a great defender and can shoot. I love that move.

Kobe is 33. He isnt going to get better and the tight schedule may not help him. Dont see how they can get Paul and Howard if it took Pau and Odom toget Paul. Doubt Orlando takes Bynum for Howard. What else do lakers have of value to add to deal even if another team was added? I could see them taking Odom/Pau or working a 3 teamer