Pau Gasol in the Big Picture
ESPN.com - TrueHoop —
This is really something. I'd normally now lapse into some kind of analysis of this deal, but I put most of those thoughts together already. Ignoring the Grizzlies, let's talk about the Lakers. This is an exciting time for them. ESPN's John Hollinger writes on his blog (Insider): Yes, [Gasol] is a little soft. He's also one of the quickest 7-footers in the league and can shoot, handle and pass. That last item is important -- he'll share the ball and play nice with Kobe, and he'll be very effective from the high post in the triangle while Andrew Bynum takes the low block. As for the soft part, that should be ...
Nice! Kwame Gwone, Pau Now.
NBA Weblog —
Today the Lakers traded Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, and two first-round draft picks for Memphis big man Pau Gasol! This is a great pickup and should help the Lakers front court fill in after injuries to Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza, and Luke Walton. Granted, Pau is not a domineering big man - he's got range and speed and plays suspect D at times - but his numbers are impressive - 18.9 ppg and 8.8 boards/game, 50.1% field goal average, 81.9% free throw shooting, and nearly 1.5 blocks/game so far this season. And best of all, they finally got rid of Kwame! So long.
I'm certain that it will take Gasol some time to integrate into ...
