Question from a Laker hater

[OGSactownballer]

So in watching all the Pau rumors, I am having trouble understanding how he would not screw up what you guys have going. Since you are getting Batum, and start Pek and Love, do you make Pau the sixth man? Do you do it with ne of the others?

I am honestly not trolling but seriously trying to figure this out.

[Klomp]

So in watching all the Pau rumors, I am having trouble understanding how he would not screw up what you guys have going. Since you are getting Batum, and start Pek and Love, do you make Pau the sixth man? Do you do it with ne of the others?

I am honestly not trolling but seriously trying to figure this out.

Pek would be the sixth man, not Gasol.

[eroomlladnar]

If Kahn actually did move Derrick Williams for Pau Gasol, this board would explode.

There's no way there's any truth to that at all. It's all coming from the Lakers side.

[[RCG]]

If Kahn actually did move Derrick Williams for Pau Gasol, this board would explode.

There's no way there's any truth to that at all. It's all coming from the Lakers side.

Plus the Batum offer effectively squashes all the Gasol talk. In order to offer Batum that deal we have to let both Webster and Miller go. I suppose we could trade: Williams, Johnson, Barea, Milicic for Gasol.

Rubio/Ridnour/Lee
Budinger/Ellington/Lee
Batum/Budinger/Hummel
Love/Gasol/Hummel
Gasol/Pek

Tough starting line-up but no depth. I doubt either team does that deal mentioned above.

[kingrory]

If Kahn actually did move Derrick Williams for Pau Gasol, this board would explode.

There's no way there's any truth to that at all. It's all coming from the Lakers side.

Plus the Batum offer effectively squashes all the Gasol talk. In order to offer Batum that deal we have to let both Webster and Miller go. I suppose we could trade: Williams, Johnson, Barea, Milicic for Gasol.

Rubio/Ridnour/Lee
Budinger/Ellington/Lee
Batum/Budinger/Hummel
Love/Gasol/Hummel
Gasol/Pek

Tough starting line-up but no depth. I doubt either team does that deal mentioned above.

Agreed. I swear the media honestly just trashes the so-called "small market teams" just for the sensationalism of it. Then they have an even bigger story when "small market teams" like the Wolves SOMEhow make the playoffs.

The reports that the Wolves are, believe it or not, RECEIVING more calls then sending probably have quite a bit of truth to them.

The Wolves have some intriguing players. D-Will does have a shot at making some noise in this league along with some of our other guys. It's such a joke that LA thinks not only would we give up D-Will, who's value both monetarily and developmentally eclipses Pau alone, but also SuperCoolBeas, who the Lakers have long coveted. Not to mention some first round picks. Uffda.

Gasol is not in our plans. I would be downright astonished if he somehow lands on the team before the upcoming season. If we land Batum, we have a VERY solid core to build on.

I'm having a moment of clarity and quite frankly: with Batum, the Wolves might be one or two players away from making a run.

[Basti]

Although Gasol is a notch or two above Iggy and, in particular, Kevin Martin I wouldn't be surprised if Kahn actually puts him into the same category as those two guys: quite good fit but too pricey. Not to mention the age factor.

[shangrila]

And then sign Roy to a MLE deal (the smaller one you get after you've got capspace) for a few years, roll out with Rubio-Roy-Batum-Love-Gasol with Pek, Bud, Ridnour, Tolly, Lee, etc off the bench.

Ugh, won't happen. It's too good.

[lobishome]

So in watching all the Pau rumors, I am having trouble understanding how he would not screw up what you guys have going. Since you are getting Batum, and start Pek and Love, do you make Pau the sixth man? Do you do it with ne of the others?

I am honestly not trolling but seriously trying to figure this out.

Do you think Pekovic is Kareem Abdul Jabbar or something like that? Pekovic has played great games this season but he still is a limited Center. Pau would be starter without any doubt.

BTW, IMO Love+Pau+Peko would be the best frontcourt of the NBA.

[Basti]

So in watching all the Pau rumors, I am having trouble understanding how he would not screw up what you guys have going. Since you are getting Batum, and start Pek and Love, do you make Pau the sixth man? Do you do it with ne of the others?

I am honestly not trolling but seriously trying to figure this out.

Do you think Pekovic is Kareem Abdul Jabbar or something like that? Pekovic has played great games this season but he still is a limited Center. Pau would be starter without any doubt.

BTW, IMO Love+Pau+Peko would be the best frontcourt of the NBA.

No doubt about that. I think everyone agrees that Pau would make a great fit on this team but his contract and age are concerning. To me at least.

[john2jer]

I've come around on this. Assuming we sign Batum, I would make the trade for Gasol.

How?

Trade Ridnour for Batum $&T.

Hate losing Ridnour, but it sends him back home for his family and gives Portland a mentor for Lillard.

This opens up a little more cap space, allowing us to sign Roy and Shved for roughly $6-7mil a year TOTAL between the two.

Then you trade Williams, Beasley(S&T), and Darko to either the Lakers, or as part of a 3 team deal with the Magic. All we need to do is come up with ~$14mil in outgoing salaries to take on Gasol, so Beasley gets a $4mil+ contract. He'll likely get closer to $6mil, though.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA J2J! We didn't extend Beasley the QO, though."

We can still sign and trade him. The QO just keeps him a RFA and gives us first refusal. You can sign and trade UFA.

C - Gasol/Pek
PF - Love/Tolliver
SF - Batum/Budinger/Hummel
SG - Roy*/Shved/Ellington
PG - Rubio/Barea/Lee

*Roy plays about 20 minutes a game, Shved, Budinger, Batum, Ellington, and Lee split the rest.

J2J - NBA Exec of the Year

[[RCG]]

I've come around on this. Assuming we sign Batum, I would make the trade for Gasol.

How?

Trade Ridnour for Batum $&T.

Hate losing Ridnour, but it sends him back home for his family and gives Portland a mentor for Lillard.

This opens up a little more cap space, allowing us to sign Roy and Shved for roughly $6-7mil a year TOTAL between the two.

Then you trade Williams, Beasley(S&T), and Darko to either the Lakers, or as part of a 3 team deal with the Magic. All we need to do is come up with ~$14mil in outgoing salaries to take on Gasol, so Beasley gets a $4mil+ contract. He'll likely get closer to $6mil, though.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA J2J! We didn't extend Beasley the QO, though."

We can still sign and trade him. The QO just keeps him a RFA and gives us first refusal. You can sign and trade UFA.

C - Gasol/Pek
PF - Love/Tolliver
SF - Batum/Budinger/Hummel
SG - Roy*/Shved/Ellington
PG - Rubio/Barea/Lee

*Roy plays about 20 minutes a game, Shved, Budinger, Batum, Ellington, and Lee split the rest.

J2J - NBA Exec of the Year

Not bad, I'd split the average minutes this way:

Rubio(36)/Barea(12)/Lee(0)
Roy(20)/Shved(18)/Budinger(10)/Ellington(0)
Batum(36)/Budinger(12)/Hummel(0)
Love(38)/Gasol(8)/Tolliver(2)
Gasol(22)/Pekovic(26)/Tolliver(0)

[eyeteeth]

I've come around on this. Assuming we sign Batum, I would make the trade for Gasol.

How?

Trade Ridnour for Batum $&T.

Hate losing Ridnour, but it sends him back home for his family and gives Portland a mentor for Lillard.

This opens up a little more cap space, allowing us to sign Roy and Shved for roughly $6-7mil a year TOTAL between the two.

Then you trade Williams, Beasley(S&T), and Darko to either the Lakers, or as part of a 3 team deal with the Magic. All we need to do is come up with ~$14mil in outgoing salaries to take on Gasol, so Beasley gets a $4mil+ contract. He'll likely get closer to $6mil, though.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA J2J! We didn't extend Beasley the QO, though."

We can still sign and trade him. The QO just keeps him a RFA and gives us first refusal. You can sign and trade UFA.

C - Gasol/Pek
PF - Love/Tolliver
SF - Batum/Budinger/Hummel
SG - Roy*/Shved/Ellington
PG - Rubio/Barea/Lee

*Roy plays about 20 minutes a game, Shved, Budinger, Batum, Ellington, and Lee split the rest.

J2J - NBA Exec of the Year

Not bad, I'd split the average minutes this way:

Rubio(36)/Barea(12)/Lee(0)
Roy(20)/Shved(18)/Budinger(10)/Ellington(0)
Batum(36)/Budinger(12)/Hummel(0)
Love(38)/Gasol(8)/Tolliver(2)
Gasol(22)/Pekovic(26)/Tolliver(0)

I've been one of the most anti-Gasol here, but I can see this. We would have a shot at the conference finals in year one if everyone stayed healthy.

Still don't see it happening, but an interesting thought.

[Jajwanda]

It's interesting here in L.A. as well. If there's nothing better I wouldn't be opposed to a deal that reduced spending next year drastically, acquired a young talent that would have been top 10 this year and a legitimate player. The payroll problem is nothing to scoff at in L.A.'s eyes. A deal with Minnesota would give L.A. breathing room and in a year MWP could be amnestied if the team is still not in the right range. I like Beasley and Williams playing together.

[AdonisDeMarion]

If Kahn actually did move Derrick Williams for Pau Gasol, this board would explode.

There's no way there's any truth to that at all. It's all coming from the Lakers side.

Plus the Batum offer effectively squashes all the Gasol talk. In order to offer Batum that deal we have to let both Webster and Miller go. I suppose we could trade: Williams, Johnson, Barea, Milicic for Gasol.

Rubio/Ridnour/Lee
Budinger/Ellington/Lee
Batum/Budinger/Hummel
Love/Gasol/Hummel
Gasol/Pek

Tough starting line-up but no depth. I doubt either team does that deal mentioned above.

Agreed. I swear the media honestly just trashes the so-called "small market teams" just for the sensationalism of it. Then they have an even bigger story when "small market teams" like the Wolves SOMEhow make the playoffs.

The reports that the Wolves are, believe it or not, RECEIVING more calls then sending probably have quite a bit of truth to them.

The Wolves have some intriguing players. D-Will does have a shot at making some noise in this league alongwith some of our other guys. It a joke that LAthinks not only would we give up D-Will, who's value both monetarily and developmentally eclipses Pau alone, but also SuperCoolBeas, who the Lakers have long coveted. Not to mention some first round picks. Uffda

Gasol is not in our plans. I would be downright astonished if he somehow lands on the team before the upcoming season. If we land Bum, we have a VERY solid core to build on.

I'm having a moment of clarity and quite frankly: with Batum, the Wolves might be one or two players away from making a run.[
Do your homework first! Williams, Beasley, Randolph, and Johnson so Bryant can have a background up. As for your homework the Timberwolves let Beasley and Randolph walk. So this brings me to my next question. Why would they care about sending them to LA. They get Gasol to play center next to Love and Nikola Pekovic coming off the bench splitting time with Gasol at the 5.. they form would form one of the best front courts in the NBA. I also see Gasol posting 19-20 ppg 10-12rpg