I'm not much for conspiracy theories...

[writerman]

but this Lakers trade with the Grizzlies to get Gasol is so outrageously lopsided in the Laker's favor I've almost got to wonder if behind the scenes the league wasn't pulling strings to get their glamour franchise the piece it needed to contend.

This is just too, too convenient by far for the Lakers--and from what I can see the trade makes little sense for Memphis and they get almost no real value in return

Hmmmmm....

[MagicFan3]

It's called rebuilding. Memphis made a trade for the future. It's not a conspiracy, it's something that happens very often...

[bstein14]

Gasol makes a TON of money, and was the second best player on a terrible team.

18 and 8 ain't exactly worth $15 million a year.

He's a good player but Memphis did alright by getting an expiring deal, a decent young prospect, and a couple of firsts.

[GJense4181]

and when Memphis wins the lottery?

[magicfan4life05]

dont forget baron davis to GS for dale davis and speedy claxton, that turned out to be a descent trade for hornets only because of their own pick (cp3)

and also dont forget the infamous VC trade...

[Kobay]

Its NBA where conspiracy happens

[jzmagik]

I was on the verge of puking when I found out about the trade. This is just so **** disgusting.

[bstein14]

Gasol is the PF version of Vince Carter...

[JD225]

Memphis didn't need to trade Gasol to tank the season. Just play the season out at the current pace and shut down Gasol near the end of the season. Trade Gasol for a top 5-6 pick like the Sonics did with Ray Ray.

They didn't even get rid of any bad contracts. What a terrible move to rebuild.

[Manhattan Project]

Where was this conspiracy when the Lakers traded for Kwame Brown? Looking back until yesterday that ranked up there as one of the worse deals in recent memory.

[Kweli]

Yes it was lopsided, but there is no conspiracy...

I blame cheap/poor management decisions by the owners. I know its a business, but sometimes these "entrepreneur" owners are hurting their teams and the league by being more concerned with keeping costs low than building a competitive team.

And besides, before the trade and with a healthy team the Lakers were a top 4 team in the West, its not like they were bottom feeders desperate for fans and viewers.

[Iggyemu]

Conspiracy or not. The way David Stern said what he said about if the ratings were bad for the Finals this year he would be worried makes me think twice when you seriously discuss something like this. Boston had already made their trade. I was think to myself...Boston vs. SA probably won't do much better than Cleveland vs SA last year.

Now you see a trade like this which clearly IMO makes the Lakers the favorite in the West and you think back to what Stern said and how he said it and you think maybe there is something there.

This is the NBA..maybe the most corrupt of the American major sports. Basketball fans know it...we just deal with it b/c we love the game.

[Frosty]

It does seem strange that this is the best deal they could get. I mean those draft picks aren't going to be lottery. You'd think someone else would put together a decent package but the trigger seems to have been pulled early.

[GJense4181]

^Yep. Bulls could have put together a much better package.

[incontrol__]

dont forget baron davis to GS for dale davis and speedy claxton, that turned out to be a descent trade for hornets only because of their own pick (cp3)

and also dont forget the infamous VC trade...

League obviously rigged the Baron Davis and Vince Carter trades too.

[MaNs1]

It's called rebuilding. Memphis made a trade for the future. It's not a conspiracy, it's something that happens very often...

They could get some kind of a prospect back though ...

You don't trade an all-star for nothing.

[NO-KG-AI]

I'm not one for conspiracy theories either. So yeah, I'm locking this one.