With the Lakers recent acquisition of Pau Gasol, many are speculating about a return to championship form. Why not? The Lakers, upon the return of injured center Andrew Bynum, boast four consistent scorers in Bynum, Gasol, Lamar Odom, and that one guy….I believe he goes by Black Mamba. And lets not forget about Derek Fisher as a fifth option and a guy who will hit open jump shots when given the chance.

For the Lakers, this trade is phenomenal. Not only did they acquire an all-star caliber center, they also dumped the biggest piece of garbage in the NBA in Kwame Brown. I don’t think I need to spend much time railing on Kwame other than noting that I’ve never seen a seven footer miss as many dunks and easy shots as Kwame. Dude can’t play. Pau, on the other hand, can. And I’m excited to watch.

I really am beginning to wonder what’s going through the heads of all the other GM’s in the league. How did the Lakers orchestrate a trade for a player of Gasol’s magnitude without even surrendering any of their top ten players? How were other teams not clued in on this? What the hell is Memphis doing?

The Lakers are a lot like the Celtics in that the NBA is a better business when both are succeeding. There’s too much history and talent between the two organizations to have one or both playing poorly. Well, wouldn’t you know it but both the Celtics and Lakers are right back in the playoff hunt. The Celtics have already been thrown around in discussions of title contention with their revamped offense of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. With the acquisition of Pau Gasol, might we put the Lakers in the discussion of title contention as well?

Most trade deadline speculation turns out to be just that…speculation. With the deadline fast approaching (3 PM EST on Thursday), Pau Gasol and Jason Kidd are the two names everyone is throwing around. When and if a deal will get done is another story.

You really have to feel for Pau Gasol. He’s a national hero to people in Spain but in the United States, he’s an afterthought. The reason? He plays his basketball for the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the NBA’s worst teams at 14-41. Poor Pau has never even won a playoff game because the Grizzlies have been swept out of the first round the last three years. The team everyone seems to be throwing around with Gasol is Chicago. For the Bulls, it’s a deal they should make.

They have a nice core but there’s no real stars in that core. Ben Gordon is a great player and he’s one guy you don’t want to part with. Besides an up-and-comer like Tyrus Thomas and the big man Ben Wallace, I’d say everyone else should be expendable. The Grizzlies want Chris Duhon, Andres Nocioni, and Thomas out of the deal. Thomas is the wild card here because he’s young, athletic, and perfectly suited for Memphis’ up-tempo offense. If the Bulls pull the trigger, they can win the Eastern Conference. If I’m GM John Paxson, I bust my ass to try and get Tyrus Thomas out of that deal. Throw in Luol Deng or another piece. But keep Thomas. Read the rest of this entry »