Kobe Bryant is Sick of the Pau Gasol Trade Rumors, Too
The Lakers lost to the Suns (enter snicker here) Sunday night, and a perturbed Kobe sounded off at management afterward:
“I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him. It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow. I’d rather them not trade him at all, but if they’re going to do something, I wish they would just … do it.”
Minnesota? Orlando? Does Philly need another big man (and would it part with Iguodala or Lou Williams)? Might as well throw Atlanta in there (though I’m not sure Horford/Teague would be sufficient), and Houston, too (could Kyle Lowry be the solution to LA’s point guard woes?).
The Lakers are 19-10 18-13, fifth in the West. They’re certainly not awful, but they’re also not the favorites to reach the Finals (in a 7-game series, I’d trust the Clippers and Thunder more right now).
My issues with trading Gasol: 1) Bynum is injury prone, 2) you’re losing a very good passing post player, 3) you lose your biggest advantage (twin towers). The two other contenders in the West both have capable PF/C combos (Jordan/Griffin; Perkins/Ibaka), even though only one of those guys is a reliable scorer.
Reasons to trade Gasol: 1) lack of point guard, 2) lack of 3-point shooting, 3) if you can somehow fill both voids in a trade for Gasol, how can you not pull the trigger?
The NBA trade deadline this year is March 15th. Just be ready for the Kobe backlash – in the short term – if LA gives up its second best player. How pissed do you think he’ll be that he’s not getting a 6th ring? Jordan’s got six. I mean, it’s not like it’s happening with Gasol, but …
Kobe Bryant upset with Lakers’ management over Pau Gasol’s situation [LA Times]
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26 Responses to “Kobe Bryant is Sick of the Pau Gasol Trade Rumors, Too”
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February 20th, 2012 at 1:33 PM
Pau for Charlie V and Stuckey. Oh and Kobe should STFU and maybe stop shooting so often.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:37 PM
Kobe had 10 turnovers last night. That was the reason for his outburst. Classic Kobe. At a time when he should take responsibility for a bad night, he sounds off about anything but.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:42 PM
@dude – No. Gasol has clearly not been himself in terms of mental lapses, and it’s effecting his play on the court (don’t just cite numbers). There’s many games where Gasol will just check out. Kobe played terrible yesterday, but that’s not why this ourburst happened. He’s played terrible lots of times this season.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:43 PM
Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long for Kobe to say this. This was a great calculated move on his part as a leader. I’m assuming he had a talk with Pau as friends, and clearly it was bugging him.
He thought he was secure with the team that he had helped bring 2 championships in 3 years, along with a Finals appearance. At the drop of a hat (and Phil Jackson leaving), they decide to trade him>? Pau deserves a lot more credit then he gets for a) the way he’s handled it like a pro and b) what he means to this Lakers team.
Jim Buss is a f**king moron; he’s trying to make the Lakers his “own” team (and seperate from the PJ era). This is why Shaw was not hired when he clearly was the best option; this is why there is so much hesitation to trade Bynum; this is why a bunch of Lakers personnel were fired. I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for Kobe’s no trade clause and the fans sentiment towards him, Kobe would be on the block as well.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:43 PM
Hey now.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:45 PM
No. They’re 18-13.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:47 PM
Funniest thing about this story, is that after Kobe said all this, he told the reporters that they now have bulletin news…and then said “You’re welcome” and walked out doing the Kobe System symbol.
You can’t make this shit up.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:49 PM
Bynum isn’t injury prone, stupid. Bynum has to avoid guys faling into his knees. It’s not like he’s got some Genetic Curse like Chris Paul or someone else with bad knees.
February 20th, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Never try having sex outdoors in the middle of the night in Syracuse in the middle of February.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Horford??? He’s out for the year. What the hell man!
February 20th, 2012 at 2:04 PM
The Lakers are 19-10, fifth in the West.
No. They’re 18-13.
honest mistake. They were 19-10 a few days ago, now they’re 18-13
February 20th, 2012 at 2:06 PM
Classic regression to the mean, right there.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:07 PM
Horford??? He’s out for the year. What the hell man!
that wouldn’t matter to the Lakers, would it? Really? But Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Fratello wants to get a deal done
/JMac
February 20th, 2012 at 2:08 PM
Remind me again what the Spurs did to make you so dismissive of them? Not sure what else they could do to make them a contender.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:10 PM
Remind me again what the Spurs did to make you so dismissive of them? Not sure what else they could do to make them a contender.
they could have a few more frontrunners on their bandwagon, steeler fan
February 20th, 2012 at 2:17 PM
Your face is a bandwagon.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:19 PM
Neither have anybody that can get you consistent buckets in the low-post. That being said… Low post scoring, especially in the playoffs – overrated or underrated? The last team to win the NBA championship without a legit low-post scoring threat, and yes, I’m counting Dirk as a low-post scoring threat, was the Bulls back in 1998 and they had a guy named Jordan.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:20 PM
Vlad –
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine
Stuckey can’t be traded.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:21 PM
and yes, I’m counting Dirk as a low-post scoring threat,
why? To make your argument seem not like you had an oversight, but like you are purposely ignoring an answer that invalidates your question?
Because he takes the ball 15 feet from the basket and most often shoots it from further away. And he’s usually facing when he makes his moves.
He’s in no way a low post scorer.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:22 PM
Stuckey can’t be traded.
neither can Charlie Villanueva, but probably for a different reason
February 20th, 2012 at 2:31 PM
The last team to win the NBA championship without a legit low-post scoring threat, and yes, I’m counting Dirk as a low-post scoring threat, was the Bulls back in 1998 and they had a guy named Jordan.
what’s even funnier about this is how much time old Jordan spent in the post with the ball
February 20th, 2012 at 2:35 PM
Maybe I should have said back to the basket scoring then. Neither of which the Clippers or the Thunder have either.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Who were the low post threats on the Celtics or Pistons? Or does KG and Rasheed get the Dirk* exception since they are tall players who prefer to take jumpers?
*Ignore them since they invalidate your argument.
February 20th, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Maybe I should have said back to the basket scoring then.
Jordan played back to the basket a whole lot. And also, what Brawny Tom said.
February 20th, 2012 at 3:11 PM
Fratello’s coaching the Hawks now? What the hell happened to Kevin Loughery?!
February 20th, 2012 at 4:02 PM
It’s really a monumental personnel failure that the Lakers are so awful at point right now. Everyone knew Fisher was done two years ago. Last year, against, Dallas, he looked like he was playing on one leg. This year, the best thing you can say about the Lakers is that when Fisher’s in the line-up they’re playing 4 on 5. It’s just a shitty situation when your best answer to fix a problem that should have been fixed last year is trade your second best player, and undermine your most distinctive strength.