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"If this coach stays and Dwight Howard remains with the Lakers," I asked, "what about you?" "It would be hard for me to deal with another season knowing the facts you just mentioned," said Gasol, 32 and with one year remaining on his contract. "So do you ask for a fresh start elsewhere?" "It's a possibility," he said, "yes."

The coach and player met at a Manhattan Beach restaurant a few weeks back, and most folks were left with the impression they had a meeting of minds. "It was an effort on our part to try and come to an understanding," Gasol said. "But I don't think it's translated to an understanding. Nothing significant has happened; it's probably even gone a little backwards." Los Angeles Times

Writing is on the wall. I fully expect him to be gone by the deadline.

bad timing Pau. really bad timing.

always remember to post the link. here is the link for the article
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketbal ... ull.column

Yup he's a goner. Although, I rather ditch Pringles we know very well Lakers are not going to go through another coaching change. Let's all hope it's not for Bargs

At this rate we might as well trade him for Josh Smith. Might as well add another headcase. Also because our team is so high on signing D12, Josh Smith would increase the possibility of Dwight staying. Smoove might not be bad with the Shawn Marion role.

Atlanta does not want Pau. How many times do you have to read that?

Well, if Dwight doesn't want D'Antoni either, and you aren't trading him, why trade Pau for wanting the same thing?

The real issue is that I don't think there's any chemistry between Pau and Dwight... I constantly see Pau trying to engage him, but Dwight just seems to always ignore him.

hazy_01 wrote:Yup he's a goner. Although, I rather ditch Pringles we know very well Lakers are not going to go through another coaching change. Let's all hope it's not for Bargs

I have a feeling that Atlanta will do the same thing that Orlando eventually did with Dwight... they'll come calling for Kupchak and Buss to take Josh Smith at some point over the next 2 weeks. Remember, Kupchak and Buss were just sitting back and letting it play out and Orlando finally caved. Called them, had Philly in on it, and then Denver jumped in as the 4th team. I could see something like that happening between LA and Atlanta because Smith wants to be maxed out to the fullest in Atlanta... 18mill per year and Atlanta doesn't want to pay him.

crazyeights wrote:Atlanta does not want Pau. How many times do you have to read that?

I understand that Atlanta doesn't want Pau. I was being sarcastic. But I do think a trade could be worked out along the lines of a three way with Minny (Pau to minny, Smoove LAL, D.Williams/Jamison/AK47 to Atl).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6wJMWjS39g[/youtube]

Kilroy wrote:Well, if Dwight doesn't want D'Antoni either, and you aren't trading him, why trade Pau for wanting the same thing?

The real issue is that I don't think there's any chemistry between Pau and Dwight... I constantly see Pau trying to engage him, but Dwight just seems to always ignore him.

the difference is, according to the op, pau would ask for a trade should dwight re-sign.

and op you're going to need to post a link because in the wiretap pau believes he can co-exist with dwight:

Gasol believes that a different style would allow him to dominate the interior with Howard.

"I believe 100% if I was starting inside with Dwight we could make the playoffs. I just don't know if coming off the bench gives the team a chance to be better and win more games."

it seems that pau's problem is mainly coming off the bench, that's something dwight has no control over. but it's something dwight effects because pau can't start as long as dwight is on the roster and pau can't contribute if he's a pf, so if op's quotes are true then he needs to be gone. completely unacceptable, and to say it's bad timing is only the tip of the iceberg with the way the season has gone.

Kilroy wrote:Well, if Dwight doesn't want D'Antoni either, and you aren't trading him, why trade Pau for wanting the same thing?

The real issue is that I don't think there's any chemistry between Pau and Dwight... I constantly see Pau trying to engage him, but Dwight just seems to always ignore him.

Dwight gets annoyed with Pau more than anything because Pau can't defend PFs and he gets out-quicked in just about every phase. I see it all the time too. If you were Dwight, wouldn't you want your boy Josh Smith playing next to you?... who can defend PFs and play with energy and hustle?

I highly doubt that Dwight's gonna allow himself to be linked to the firing of another coach and he's not on record as far as having a problem with D'antoni. Gasol is though.

The funny thing is this; if Phil were coaching this team he'd probably cut Pau's minutes in a major way because Phil knows how important it is to spread the floor offensively and have the majority of your players on the floor with the ability to defend their own position. That's why Phil preferred Odom @ PF and Gasol @ center. But with Dwight in the house that means less center for Pau... and Pau still can't defend the PF position. So IMO, it's not a coaching problem... it's a personnel problem... the problem is it's a new era and Gasol's days at center for the Lakers are done. He gave up 60pts in the paint against Detroit the other day. 60. lol

Would the Lakres get rid of Dan Tony knowing they have to pay him and Mike Clown off and get a new coach

crazyeights wrote:Atlanta does not want Pau. How many times do you have to read that?

I think they'll take him. What other choice do they have? They don't want to pay Smith and he's a pending free agent without a market. There aren't any teams out there who want to give up a load of talent for Smith and then pay him 18 million per year. The last report was that teams were shying away from Smith because he's not willing to commit to an extension. He wants to go out the free agent market. Lakers have shown that they'll take an all-star caliber player without a commitment... just did so this past summer.

And Atlanta is still in the playoff picture. Gasol can help them @ center... Horford @ PF.

I really doubt we trade Pau in the next two weeks, seeing that Dwight's back is still 75% and his shoulder is probably going to require off-season surgery.

GAME TIME wrote:Would the Lakres get rid of Dan Tony knowing they have to pay him and Mike Clown off and get a new coach

Lakers are bleeding money because of the TV deal. They just want the right coach. That being said, the only coaching change I think you'll see is Nate McMillan joining D'antoni's coaching staff next year. D'antoni's fine. He's no different that Phil in terms of wanting a quicker/more athletic PF next to his center. Phil liked to run with Odom @ PF the majority of the time. Bynum would start, but he was the 3rd big in terms of minutes.

I wish Phil were coaching just so I could see Gasol's take on Phil decreasing his role. Wonder if he would throw Phil under the bus too.

HiiiPOWER wrote:

crazyeights wrote:Atlanta does not want Pau. How many times do you have to read that?

I think they'll take him. What other choice do they have? They don't want to pay Smith and he's a pending free agent without a market. There aren't any teams out there who want to give up a load of talent for Smith and then pay him 18 million per year. The last report was that teams were shying away from Smith because he's not willing to commit to an extension. He wants to go out the free agent market. Lakers have shown that they'll take an all-star caliber player without a commitment... just did so this past summer.

And Atlanta is still in the playoff picture. Gasol can help them @ center... Horford @ PF.

The reason they won't trade him is because all indications and reports suggest Atlanta is looking to maintain their massive amounts of cap space this summer? This situation is completely different from Orlando. If they let Josh Smith walk, Atlanta has 40 million dollars in cap space. Granted the FA pool isn't terrific this offseason, why would you blow half your cap space load on Pau Gasol. Like you said, Atlanta isn't making the playoffs, so why trade for a player like Pau (who has a 2-3 window) when you can retool and figure out the roster this summer.

i'm still waiting on a link to this so i can read the full context of it all in detail and i'm trying not rush to conclusions, but i think that's more me seeing the writing on the wall but just refusing to believe it. so i'm going to wait and if it matches the tone of the excerpts in the op then i've lost all respect for pau. normally i don't get emotional about anything in sports or really anything in general, but this hurts. if anyone was going to be the ultimate team player i thought it was going to be him.

The thing that's also frustrating, is Pau was playing horribly with Mike Brown's offense at PF too. I don't see why Pau thinks it's going to be any different if he were starting. His numbers at PF are awful compared to center....

If Hill weren't injured I could see us trading Pau for maybe an upgrade at SF/a better backup PG. But, to me it just doesn't make sense to make any trades where we're not getting a big back off the bench. Next summer and trade deadline his contract will be much easier to move and we'll hopefully have a better sense of team identity by then.

Who knows, Dwight could leave...why trade Pau now?

myersia wrote:bad timing Pau. really bad timing.

always remember to post the link. here is the link for the article
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketbal ... ull.column

destro wrote:i'm still waiting on a link to this so i can read the full context of it all in detail and i'm trying not rush to conclusions, but i think that's more me seeing the writing on the wall but just refusing to believe it. so i'm going to wait and if it matches the tone of the excerpts in the op then i've lost all respect for pau. normally i don't get emotional about anything in sports or really anything in general, but this hurts. if anyone was going to be the ultimate team player i thought it was going to be him.

Read the 2nd post of the thread, mang!

Phil Jackson could fix all of this mess. SMDH, just gotta hope the Buss family sucks up their pride and gives this team the RIGHT COACH we need. Crap I'm even for Rambis or Shaw to coach us. Because I know we'll run the right system and those 2 are people the players respect on the roster...Including Kobe