Assuming ...

[ALL HAIL]

... the rumors were true, and Pau Gasol could nab the 2nd pick:

If Kyrie Irving was still on the board, would you dump Gasol and other pieces for Irving, Milicic and/or Randolph?

If Minnesota were interested in Gasol and were willing to part with the prospect of Irving, is it worth it for the average Laker fan?

Just asking the question?

[Gek]

... the rumors were true, and Pau Gasol could nab the 2nd pick:

If Kyrie Irving was still on the board, would you dump Gasol and other pieces for Irving, Milicic and/or Randolph?

If Minnesota were interested in Gasol and were willing to part with the prospect of Irving, is it worth it for the average Laker fan?

Just asking the question?

My opinion, yes.

[The_Trade_Seer]

^ I second that, for the simple reason of age ... Pau is aging ...

[TyCobb]

Pau is aging, like everyone else on the planet, but how much will it affect his game? Will he go from zero athleticism to negative? He's more of a finesse player, like Duncan. Duncan played pretty well through the age of 34, so Gasol still has at least 4 more All-Star years to go.

[doozyj]

Yes. A high draft prospect taken under the wing by Kobe while he is still playing would set the Lakers up for the post-Kobe era. Nothing like teaching someone like Irving Kobe's work ethic while he is still young. We have Odom as well to slide into Pau's spot.

[BEazy]

I wouldn't do it just because Kevin Love isn't involved in the deal. I mean we are talking about a potential Rubio and Gasol reunion here. Wolves aim for that chemistry, so I wouldn't do it unless Love is involved. And if the Wolves wanted they could give us their 20th pick instead of their 2nd pick.

[The_Trade_Seer]

Actually the rumors have some teeth ... Eric Pincus is well connected to the Lakers and is not just "some writer".

My guess would be that a trade with the T'Wolves would look as follows:

Pau, Caracter and Ebanks for Love, Flynn, Darko, the exp. contract of Telfair and a $4.9 mil TPE

We would be insane to turn down the above deal, insane.

I'd trade Pau for Love straight up in a heart-beat and taking on Darko's contract is fine if we're also getting Flynn back.

And, if you want D12 or CP3 ... this is an ideal pre-emptive move to make.

Bynum and Flynn for CP3 ... the Hornets would love that.

Bynum, Love and Blake for D12, Bass and Jameer ... the Magic would love that.

Even a 3 team trade that lands us BOTH D12 and CP3 would be do-able after this deal! See the following:

LAKERS TRADE: Bynum, Love, Flynn, Odom, Artest, Brown, the exp. cons of Ratliff & Smith and $3mil
LAKERS RECEIVE: D12, CP3, Okafor and Hedo

MAGIC TRADE: D12 and Hedo
MAGIC RECEIVE: Bynum, Odom, Artest

HORNETS TRADE: CP3 and Okafor
HORNETS RECEIVE: Love, Flynn, Brown, the exp. cons of Ratliff & Smith and $3mil

The separate TPE deal would be us sending our TPE to the Magic for Chris Duhon

RE-VAMPED 2011-12 LAKERS LINEUP

PG: CP3/Blake/Duhon
SG: Kobe/Fisher/Lighty (2nd round pick)
SF: Hedo/Barnes/Walton
PF: K-Mart (MLE)/Tyler (2nd rd. pick)/Smith (2nd rd. pick)
C: D12/Okafor/Dunigan (2nd rd. pick)

Lakers fans would kill for the above lineup!!!!!!!!!! DO IT MITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TyCobb]

You just got Emplay'd.

[Slava]

^DId you just type that in 3 threads or is RealGm screwing up again?

[SniperHawk10]

that is some trade

now i see why jetset said what he said that you put a signature up of
GET IT DONE MITCH!

[DEEP3CL]

Hell yeah I'm for it, for me personally I'm not sentimental to players anymore. I'm about whatever deal will make the team better.

The only thing is this ALL HAIL, Irving won't be on the board. Cleveland is hellbent on taking him first regardless what Cavs management is saying. I like the deal for us because getting the #2 pick would mean we should take the best player in the draft and that's Derrick Williams period.

In my opinion we need a vet guard, and rumor has it that Baron Davis can be bought out and he will be.

[Slava]

For all we know Derrick Williams could be Beasley v.2.

If there's a draft to trade for a top pick, this is not it.

[snaquille oatmeal]

so where are the links to this rumors because i can out-emplay you just as well as the next guy.

[tugs]

damn, AI-in-LA... I wonder how much a team will give you as their GM...

and yeah, if trading Gasol nabs the right player in any other deal, I'm with it. getting attached to a player and grieving when they leave your team is part of the business. Cry, then move on, then win more rings.

[BosssPlaya]

LINK to RUMOR
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=20154

[Desiderium]

Actually the rumors have some teeth ... Eric Pincus is well connected to the Lakers and is not just "some writer".

lol you're kidding right?

[andrewww]

i can actually see this deal happening, if the no. 2 pick is included (obviously contracts would have to come our way to balance out pau's salary, but if we get a darko dare i say he might be an ideal back up to bynum? and websters 4 yr/20m contract could be thrown in to balance out pau's contract, giving us a lockdown shooter from 3)

if that were the case, id say brandon knight might go 2nd overall should we have the pick.

that'd solve our pg problem right away, and knight isn't the creator from a conventional pg, but on our team that wouldn't be necessary anyway. he'd be good in the triangle imo based on what ive seen of him at kentucky in the ncaa tournament, but who knos how much of the triangle we'll actualy be running.

this could be our starting lineup next yr

knight
kobe
artest
love
bynum

bench - odom, fisher, darko, (webster/ellington?), etc

it'd solve our backup center problem with a defensive minded player in darko, and love would provide the spacing the starters have lacked in recent years. the main sacrifice would be pau's scoring in the post, but the idea would be to put an emphasis on bynum. in some ways, the pau/bynum dynamic has been similar to the lebron/wade dynamic in that theyre similar enough playing style-wise to "get in each other's way". odom has always excelled playing along side a true big, and we re-stock with some good young players including love who has already shown he can contribute at an all-star level in this league. we'd be reloading on the fly, yet ensuring that when kobe retires the franchise will be in good hands.

pg, shooting (via love and others such as beasley?), and backup center problems all solved at once. from minny's perspective, they get an established big with pau, and this draft's projected top 3 picks dont really solve the wolves' needs as irving, derrick williams, and knight are all extras since they have rubio at the 1 (with pau mentoring him), and beasley at the 3.

EDIT: love went to ucla too, wouldnt hurt from a marketing standpoint. the good thing with the amount of assets we have is that we can maneuver that into favorable trade scenarios. and who knows if we can get throw ins like martell webster/wayne ellington from minny? he'd be a shooter off the bench that could be a big boost.

[tugs]

^ the deal also suggested some moves involving Flynn and Webster + Randolph/Beasley/Tolliver (a combination of 2/3) + Millicic.

nah who am I kidding. Love + #2 is better.

[LaLa]

How good is Irving? PG wise, is he more of a John Wall/Derrick Rose type or the CP3/Deron type?

[BosssPlaya]

How good is Irving? PG wise, is he more of a John Wall/Derrick Rose type or the CP3/Deron type?

Irving is said to be a notch below D Rose / D Will / CP3

If the Lakers do end up with the #2 overall pick this year, I would like to see them get B. Knight from Kentucky instead of K. Irving. John Calipari coached point guards (Rose, Wall) have both had a lot of success in the NBA so far and I think Knight will travel down the same path.