What would you offer for OJ Mayo?

[Esohny]

Is Gasol's defense good enough to have him start over Darko?

His DRtg is better than Darko's this year (and there is no comparison on offense):

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... 01&y2=2011

Hmmm, better than I expected, but I guess I'd have to see Gasol play a few games this year to know if his stat's tell me what I need to know. The starting center for the wolves has a lot of defensive responsibility, which is generally true for all centers, but I think a bit more important on the wolves (yes, this is yet another shot at Love. I'm incorrigible.). Darko seems to be growing into the role of the defensive "quarterback", which along with his shot-blocking and help skills make him an important starter for the team. Still, he's only playing limited minutes at this point and he's only just starting to show signs that he might battle his way out of his offensive funk. I still think he's going to become a solid 32 minute a game center for the team, I'm not sure adding Gasol would be the right move. On the other hand, the combination of the two for limited minutes might work pretty well also. Interesting...

Gasol has improved his quickness and stamina since dropping a bunch of weight last year. That seems to have been a major catalyst for his jump in performance on both ends.

Of course, his performance would normally cause me to say that Memphis will never let him go, since 7 footers who can play like him are pretty rare. The only reason I think we'd have a shot is because of Memphis's history of strange decisions.

[bball_jay]

Is Gasol's defense good enough to have him start over Darko?

simply put no. if gasol starts over darko it's purely offensive reasons. i don't care what some stat site says about defensive rating. the reality is gasol can't switch onto blake griffin. he can't switch onto guards in pick and roll and stay with them. darko can pretty much check every team in the leagues best big man single coverage.

gasol is more offensively polished. defensively darko is better. also we are comparing darko to gasol without even giving darko a chance. darko has never. i repeat never been developed. teams have done things to hinder his game but no team has put effort like the wolves have into improving his game.

[mandurugo]

Yeah, I agree that Darko needs more time for us to see what he can really do in a system that supports him, I'm a big believer in him. Still, the thought of both of them on the team isn't so bad, I do think that Darko could play some minutes at PF next to Gasol. On the other hand, the center position is not really a concern to me right now - not because I expect Darko to be awesome, but because I think he and Pekovic can be a solid rotation at a good price. The cost of improving on what Darko gives won't equal the quality of the improved play... unless Darko really melts down again.