A major trade just went down between the Los Angeles Lakers, a contender in the West, and the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Grizzlies traded away their best player, not to mention the current face of their franchise, Pau Gasol to the Lakers for disgruntled big man Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, veteran Aaron McKie, and Pau’s little brother, Marc Gasol, and two first-round draft picks in 2008 and 2010.
This is a huge trade for the Lakers who have been hurting in the front court since third year player Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury. Gasol (Pau) gives the Lakers an low-post game that the Lakers haven’t seen since Shaquille O’Neal was shipped out of town. I can’t help but think that the Lakers are getting the much better end of this deal. Pau still has plenty of tread left on his tires and the Lakers are giving up the biggest bust of my generation (Brown), a rookie who has yet to prove himself at all (Crittenton), a veteran that hasn’t been a factor for three or four years now (McKie), a player who has never stepped foot on an NBA court (Marc Gasol) and what should turn out to be two non-lottery draft picks. While the Lakers are getting an All-Star who will help pick up the slack left from the void that Bynum left. Gasol was getting double-teamed everytime he touched the ball down low but is still averaging 19 points 9 rebound and over a block a game. 
I can’t help but to think of what he will do with other scorers on his team like Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Lamar Odom. I will be the first to admit that I think that Odom is garbage, but that is the fan in me and the Sports Guy in me knows that his game must be and is respected across the league. When Bynum gets healthy again these two will be a force to reckon with down low and then to have Kobe or D-Fish or Odom on the perimeter hitting shots will be great. I fully expect that 19 points a game to go up and Kobe’s assist total to go up due to the fact that Kobe drives through the lane better than most and as defenders come to cover him he can dish to Gasol for the easy two. As a very public Lakers fan I am extremely pleased with this deal and want to personally thank Mitch Kupchak for finally pulling the trigger and getting another proven player to solidify this young and talented team. My final take is that I doubt Kobe is going to be asking for another trade anytime soon because the Lakers finally listened to him and dealt for some real quality talent that will help them win now. Look for the Lakers to move up from their current 6th spot in the Western Conference standings. I am not saying they are going to overtake the West and win a World Championship, but this team just got so much stronger today and like the old Robin Hood saying goes “steal from the poor and give to the rich,” oh wait no its supposed to be the other way around; well then I guess “the rich get richer” will have to do.
Clay Jackson
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