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Los Angeles Lakers Pick up Pau Gasol, Unload Kwame Brown By C.Y. Ellis
02.2.2008 - Updated on 02.2.2008
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The first rule of journalism is "Never sleep." I broke this rule good and proper today with my fifteen-hour, ’flu-induced nap, and when I awoke to the sight of beady-eyed, bearded fellow glaring at me, I assumed I’d left the door unlocked and was in the process of being robbed.
It turns out, however, that what I’d actually left open were my laptop and my browser, and the suspect fluff-chin giving me the gas face was former Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol. For anyone else yet to read the details due to illness, sleep or a normal social life (I hear Friday is the night the kids hit the discothèque), here’s how the deal went down:
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Pau Gasol, 2010 second-round draft pick
Memphis Grizzlies receive: Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, 2008 first-round pick, 2010 first-round pick
For those of you currently sporting a "What the fudge?" face, you should know that L.A. signed Aaron McKie today, and Marc Gasol is, indeed, Pau’s little brother. McKie, who was working as an assistant coach in Philly, resigned for the easiest $750,000 he’ll ever make, a move which allowed Mitch Kupchak to balance the salaries.
So, as always, the question now is "Who wins?" Well, if we’re talking in terms of talent, it’s clear that the Lakeshow is making off like a bully with the chess club’s lunch money. Pau, the proven pivot, has been pimping the post since day one, and last season’s nightly twenty-ten outings established his position among the league’s top-tier big men. Kwame, meanwhile, leads the league in missed dunks, non sequitur turnovers and wasted talent, and it’s likely that he’ll be taking whatever potential he supposedly has into his retirement.
While the Notorious G.M.1 isn’t exactly Jerry West, he’s no Elgin Baylor either, so this trade wasn’t the robbery it initially looks to be. While L.A. get away with the player they wanted, Memphis is comfortable in the knowledge that it only has Brown’s contract on the books until the end of the season, which, coupled with the loss of the burden of the fifty million remaining on Gasol’s deal, gives them wiggle room to lure a big name or two to Tennessee this summer. Throw in a pair of picks and Crittenton, an inexpensive, twenty-year-old, 6’5’’ point guard who has shown flashes of capability in his young career, and it seems as if Memphis’ mediocrity is likely to pass in the future.
Unfortunately, they’re going to have to endure thirty-something games with MF DOOM2 in place of their go-to guy before things will start to improve. Given that they were on pace for only twenty-three wins before they downgraded, that means that a period of unpleasantness is ahead for Grizz fans, even if they do have the light of financial leverage at the end of the tunnel.
So, who do you think got the best out of this deal? Is Pau Gasol worth the investment the Lakers have made in him? Is Kwame set to break out of his career-long slump in his new environment? Is L.A. a threat to the big boys with their new roster? Let us know what you think in the comment box at the bottom of your page.
It’s been pointed out in the past that some of my references are a little obscure, so for your benefit I’ll be explaining the more esoteric allusions from now on. If you ever miss something, check the footnotes, then act like you knew already.
1 Memphis’ General Manager is Chris Wallace, which was also the government name of the late rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. Consequently, I’ve taken to referring to the Wallace as the "Notorious G.M.".
2 The "MF" in the name of rapper MF DOOM (all caps, please) stands for, among other things, "Metal Fingers". While this refers to the gauntlet worn by the Marvel character Dr. Doom, I applied the nickname to Kwame for his hard hands after a friend remarked that he played as if he were wearing iron gloves. |
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Posted by
on 02.9.2008 | very good trade . | Posted by
Abdi Elmi
on 02.5.2008 | i think the lakers will have the best starting five in league they will have to seven footers which will resemble the twin tower effect then they have a small forward that is a very underated player which is capapable of being an all star. They also have a unselfish point guard that fits well with this system and last but not least they have the best player in the game running the two guard. . | Posted by
C.Y. Ellis
on 02.4.2008 | deano: I spent most of my childhood in England, and I was issued a British passport (eventually), so I suppose I am from the U.K. bandits: Crittenton is the classic throw-in that might be worth something in a few years. Even without him, though, that roster is looking mean. the person posting the hate: I know exactly who you are, and it’s disappointing to see you resort to that. . | Posted by
making out like bandits
on 02.3.2008 | DUDE! no one would want to hate on someone that has talent...kwame has never EVER played well...even when he was healthy, so coming back from injury, okay fine, but wut about the rest of his career? he’s got squat! and the lakers are better off for it...THANK GOD they dumped him..and yea..CYE...the lakers totally got a great steal in pau..the only thing they sacrificed was crittenton but they have farmar and fisher playing the pt rather well...the lakers are gonna dominate once bynum comes back and pau is able to assimilate into the triangle. just imagine the starting 5: dfish, kobe, odom, pau, bynum = madness . | Posted by
diallo
on 02.2.2008 | all i can say is BEWARE OF THE L.A. LAKERS!! . | Posted by
george
on 02.2.2008 | the lakers new lineup is rad as(when andrew bynums bak) lakers gonna take the premiership easy as . | Posted by
on 02.2.2008 | i wish people would stop ragging on kwame. hes not a bad player, hes just still recovering from injuiries and i would be happy to have him healthy on the roster of my lakers. that being said i am pleased with the pau deal. . | Posted by
Charles Ellis
on 02.2.2008 | Funniest writer of all time. You need to write more often. Get rid of those other lame clown writers. It’s all about CYE BABY! Plus we have the same name, so of course you gotta be talented . | Posted by
kalis13
on 02.2.2008 | The Mighty Lakers!!! . | Posted by
deano
on 02.2.2008 | good too have you back cy  you from the uk to aint you ? . |
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