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Ever since he choked after the playoffs, everyone is taking a dump on him, and unfortunately, It's a lot of you Lakers fans, as well. I don't know about you guys, but I don't define a player by his play over a couple of bad playoff series. I define his play over the course of his entire career (here and with Memphis). If you look at his stats, he has been the model of consistency the entire time he was with us, but just had some issues towards the end.

I think its ridiculous that people still call him soft. Did they call him soft after the Orlando or especially after the Boston series? He went head-to-head with Dwight Howard, who he played just as well as, and he outplayed KG and Perkins in the Boston series. The problem is that too many people have the "what have you done for me lately" attitude.

I personally would love to swap Bynum/Odom for Howard, but would like to keep Gasol. Part of what would make this so good, IMO, is not the Howard/Kobe combination, but the Howard/Gasol combination. Won't go into details, but if you know anything about basketball, you would see how well it would work with Howard's inside presence and Gasol's range/versatility.

Anyway, just wanted to rant a little bit. I think it's important to look at the big picture sometimes.

Pau would make a great faciliator, I too dont want him traded, Bynum/Odom for Howard/Turky and maybe Sasha TPE for Bass? lol yea unlikely but that would suit me just fine, no need for Cp3.

Gasol gets underrated by the crowd that sides with Bynum, although I'm not entirely sure why people feel compelled to even take a side (I guess that's just human nature -- red vs blue, bynum vs gasol, etc).

Without him we don't win back-to-back championships or even make the Finals, and yet he's gotten all kinds of corny ass labels and unwarranted criticism. He's still an exceptional player and a top 5 PF in the league, so I'm not sure why people are so willing to part ways with him. His ability to switch between the 4/5 is the entire reason that we have such a great FC rotation. We lose him, and suddenly we're left with some significant holes that are extremely hard to fill.

That said, he was putrid this past post-season, but so was everyone. None of our guys could hit an open shot to save their lives, and our defense from 1-5 was nothing short of horrible. We just needed some time off to recoup and get back our mojo, so we'll be fine this year even if we don't make any major changes. In fact, I'd like to see us just address our shooting/perimeter defense issues.

I agree, but I'd still trade him in a heartbeat for either Howard or Paul.

Sedale Threatt wrote:I agree, but I'd still trade him in a heartbeat for either Howard or Paul.

I would as well, but he definitely wouldn't be my first choice for either.

Me either, but that has everything to do with fit. I have zero loyalty any more when it comes to professional sports. I would trade anybody at any time if it makes the team better.

But regarding a Gasol trade: How ironic would that be, to have parlayed the Shaq trade into Pau into Dwight Howard? A cycle that began 15 years ago with Diesel's signing comes full circle.

Sedale Threatt wrote:Me either, but that has everything to do with fit. I have zero loyalty any more when it comes to professional sports. I would trade anybody at any time if it makes the team better.

But regarding a Gasol trade: How ironic would that be, to have parlayed the Shaq trade into Pau into Dwight Howard? A cycle that began 15 years ago with Diesel's signing comes full circle.

This!!!

It's surprising because when Dirk Nowitzki choked all those playoffs away before the championship people would still consider him one of the greatest PFs in the NBA. But when Pau has ONE playoff mess up it's the end of the world and Pau is basically worthless and old.

Hi Haters

Sure, but he's not better than Paul or Howard.

he really is, but if centering a package around Gasol OR Bynum for Howard and/or Paul.. its understandable.. but if trading BOTH Gasol and Bynum for only 1 of the players (Howard/Paul) in return is way tooo much and an insane move by the FO !

My ex was Spanish, while I was dating her she would watch the Grizz with Pau, so I`ve been a fan since he was dunking on KG.

He`s prone to softness, but we didn`t lose because of him. From top to bottom we seemed exhausted.

semi-sentient wrote:Gasol gets underrated by the crowd that sides with Bynum, although I'm not entirely sure why people feel compelled to even take a side (I guess that's just human nature -- red vs blue, bynum vs gasol, etc).

Without him we don't win back-to-back championships or even make the Finals, and yet he's gotten all kinds of corny ass labels and unwarranted criticism. He's still an exceptional player and a top 5 PF in the league, so I'm not sure why people are so willing to part ways with him. His ability to switch between the 4/5 is the entire reason that we have such a great FC rotation. We lose him, and suddenly we're left with some significant holes that are extremely hard to fill.

That said, he was putrid this past post-season, but so was everyone. None of our guys could hit an open shot to save their lives, and our defense from 1-5 was nothing short of horrible. We just needed some time off to recoup and get back our mojo, so we'll be fine this year even if we don't make any major changes. In fact, I'd like to see us just address our shooting/perimeter defense issues.

Disagree with the Bynum/Pau statement totally. Without Pau this team does not accomplish the accolades you mentioned, but the reason he is called soft is because he is.

I don't take dumps on Laker players as the OP so eloqently put it unless its needed. Once a player reaches the apex of his career & gets punked or doesn't show up for the playoffs, the normal consensus is this is what you will get from that player from here on out.

I'd like Pau to stay in the P & G to have a chance to redeem himself.

To the OP he wasn't called soft after the Orlando series because there was no one there to test his medal. Rashard Lewis is soft as doctors cotton so he could play his normal game.

He wasn't called soft after the 2010 Boston series because our enforcer (Drew) was back. The only way he will stop being called soft is to show up against a rugged team & answer the bell for the 10th, 11th, & 12th rounds.

BlunnTashiz wrote:My ex was Spanish, while I was dating her she would watch the Grizz with Pau, so I`ve been a fan since he was dunking on KG.

He`s prone to softness, but we didn`t lose because of him. From top to bottom we seemed exhausted.

This

I would NOT trade Pau for Chris Paul.

BosssPlaya wrote:he really is, but if centering a package around Gasol OR Bynum for Howard and/or Paul.. its understandable.. but if trading BOTH Gasol and Bynum for only 1 of the players (Howard/Paul) in return is way tooo much and an insane move by the FO !

Definitely...Both J.A. Adande and Stephen A. Smith believe we should package Bynum and Gasol for Howard. I tweeted them both, saying that they're absolute idiots.

pau was so good he should have won MVP in the 2010 finals. yeah i said it!

keep him, ship bynum.

I don't think the guys on the board here under rate him that bad. Its the guys on the GB that criminally under rate him. Sure Gasol did get a to of criticism after the playoffs but I kept telling myself Pau's meltdown was because he was simply tired. 3 straight Finals appearances and the Olympics back in 08 certainly put a toll on his body. You guys all remember the type of season Pau was having to kick the season off. He was an early MVP candidate. There were thread about Kobe's legacy if Pau won MVP.

However fatigue seemed to set in but it was hidden because Bynum was back. Pau was grabbing a really low amount of boards but nobody seemed to talk about it much because Drew was able to get those boards. Pau just wasn't himself last year but I think this season he will bounce back. A full season of a revitalized Pau and a healthy Bynum could really get this team back on track. Unless Dwight Howard were coming back I would have a hard time blowing up our front court.

So Gutta wrote:I would NOT trade Pau for Chris Paul.

This.

Any trade that makes Andrew Bynum your one and only center is a bad one.

I would trade Drew way before Pau. If Pau must go, then Okafor has to come back. Bynum is too brittle to rely on like that.