ESPN reporting CP3 traded for Gasol and Odom

[KaponOOOOdontshoottheball]

This type of basketball ignorance is the problem.

The Lakers got the LEAST out of the deal. They were worse off with Paul than without him. Go watch the tape from their playoff runs... go ahead, I'll wait.




Good, now we both know that what you saw was NOT a Kobe-show. Kobe is good, but in both their championship runs, Derek Fisher played brilliantly. Not much worse than CP3 would do himself. Look at team chemistry. Half of the possessions Kobe takes the ball himself up the court, because his skill set thrives with complete possession of the ball. Paul would cut into that, and while he's be good and Kobe could slip under the radar at times, it's not as good as you think it would be.

As you've just watched the tapes, more than once, you probably remarked to yourself: "Wow! That combination of Gasol, Odom, and Bynum (occasionally) look really good together. Good thing they have three serviceable big men to keep fresh and dominate the paint."

They traded 2/3 of that line, leaving the worst one behind. They upgraded their backcourt marginally at the cost of blowing up their frontcourt, which was the primary reason they won 2 championships. They were tough and their big men had great fundamentals. That is the reason they won. And it was gone. New Orleans was well-off after that deal, they got good pieces and a 1st rounder. The Rockets built their team out of spare parts for years, and finally when they were going to get a hot commodity, the plug was pulled.

The NBA is ENTIRELY worse off for this being vetoed.

Aren't you glad you went and looked at those tapes? Now you don't have to be all "Herp derp... Paul in LA means championship... hurrrrrrrrrr durrrr, I'm an idiot.". Doesn't that feel better?

It was/is part of their master plan to get both Paul and Howard. If they don't get D12, this whole deal...whether it goes or doesn't go through, would have been meaningless

 

[Marco Doubypops]

It was/is part of their master plan to get both Paul and Howard. If they don't get D12, this whole deal...whether it goes or doesn't go through, would have been meaningless

Gah. You're forgetting that a key component of the D12 deal was Odom going to Orlando. People were all about the possibilities of them getting both, but I guess nobody realized that Odom was the key piece in both deals, and they can't trade Odom to two places at once.

 

[KaponOOOOdontshoottheball]

Gah. You're forgetting that a key component of the D12 deal was Odom going to Orlando. People were all about the possibilities of them getting both, but I guess nobody realized that Odom was the key piece in both deals, and they can't trade Odom to two places at once.

You hit the nail on the head. That's where LA shot themselves in the foot. Gasol became the victim because LA wanted to save Bynum for the D12 trade. Now, without a second asset, I really don't know what the Lakers have to actually make this trade happen. Unless if trade deadline comes along and Orlando realizes they might lose Howard for nothing and get incredibly desperate, there really is no way a straight up D12 for Bynum trade would happen.

 

[KaponOOOOdontshoottheball]

Oh fuck, unless if Orlando takes Metta World Peace...still a terrible deal though

 

[Marco Doubypops]

It's not going to happen without Odom, and I would predict that the chances of him going to Orlando are only increasing now that Stern has fucked 1/5 of the league over.

The stars that nearly got traded on a dime are going to be pissed about it. (Gasol will feel cheated, and Odom would go apeshit because it would conflict with his reality show schedule). Stern created cancer on these teams (specifically LA and Houston), so they'll want to ship them off anyways so it doesn't become a distraction and get D12.

So when that trade does go through, the Lakers will be more stacked than they would have been with the Paul deal.

That's not even taking into consideration how fucked New Orleans is going to be when Paul bolts for nothing instead of getting the GREAT package they would have gotten with this.

I'm apPAULed that Stern let this happen. This proved that the NBA accomplished nothing. This league is still a joke.

I'm mad and shocked. The after effects of this move will be huge.

I'm usually pretty good with words, but I can't articulate how sickening this makes me feel. It was so bad.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

This type of basketball ignorance is the problem.

The Lakers got the LEAST out of the deal. They were worse off with Paul than without him. Go watch the tape from their playoff runs... go ahead, I'll wait.




Good, now we both know that what you saw was NOT a Kobe-show. Kobe is good, but in both their championship runs, Derek Fisher played brilliantly. Not much worse than CP3 would do himself. Look at team chemistry. Half of the possessions Kobe takes the ball himself up the court, because his skill set thrives with complete possession of the ball. Paul would cut into that, and while he's be good and Kobe could slip under the radar at times, it's not as good as you think it would be.

As you've just watched the tapes, more than once, you probably remarked to yourself: "Wow! That combination of Gasol, Odom, and Bynum (occasionally) look really good together. Good thing they have three serviceable big men to keep fresh and dominate the paint."

They traded 2/3 of that line, leaving the worst one behind. They upgraded their backcourt marginally at the cost of blowing up their frontcourt, which was the primary reason they won 2 championships. They were tough and their big men had great fundamentals. That is the reason they won. And it was gone. New Orleans was well-off after that deal, they got good pieces and a 1st rounder. The Rockets built their team out of spare parts for years, and finally when they were going to get a hot commodity, the plug was pulled.

The NBA is ENTIRELY worse off for this being vetoed.

Aren't you glad you went and looked at those tapes? Now you don't have to be all "Herp derp... Paul in LA means championship... hurrrrrrrrrr durrrr, I'm an idiot.". Doesn't that feel better?

I don't understand why people believe this is a great deal for the Hornets. It adds 30 million in payroll which would put them near the cap ceiling with an average team.

For the Lakers they dump two bad contracts & get the best player in the deal while keeping Bynum which would allow them to possibly acquire Dwight Howard.

 

[Marco Doubypops]

I don't understand why people believe this is a great deal for the Hornets. It adds 30 million in payroll which would put them near the cap ceiling with an average team.

For the Lakers they dump two bad contracts & get the best player in the deal while keeping Bynum which would allow them to possibly acquire Dwight Howard.

If this deal were to go through, The Lakers would not be able to aquire Dwight.

End of story.

Orlando is adamant that they want two of the Lakers' big men in return.

The only way to get Paul is by giving up 2 of their big men as well.

They have 4 big men. It's just not going to happen both ways.


As for the Hornets, yes their cap situation seems sketchy with this, however each of those pieces are valuable and movable on their own. Odom, Martin, Scola, and Dragic have better contracts and can be moved much more easily than Paul. They were also getting that 1st rounder back which is an asset for them.

As a team, you're right they are worse off, but there is value that they can move. If they want to blow the team up because they aren't competitive enough and are too close to the cap to justify their talent, they can do that. This trade puts them in a better position than they were before, nobody said they were going to win a title. Fighting for the 8th seed is more likely. The allure to their side is that otherwise Paul is leaving and they are getting nothing in return; and if you're concerned with their long-term prospects with the trade, if Paul vanishes for nothing (which everybody seems to think he will), then this trade is a steal for The Hornets. Nobody is going to offer more than that.

Most journalists look at the Denver deal last year as a point of reference. Melo and Paul are in the same talent bracket, yet look at the pieces that the Nuggets got back vs. what New Orleans is getting. They maxed out their value of Paul with this deal. It was the closest deal I've seen to an NBA win-win-win. It's a shame that one of the only logical deals in recent league memory is the one that gets axed.

Also, even if you don't agree with the deal itself, look at what the league has done by vetoing it. Odom didn't show up to team facilities today, everyone else is putting on a brave face and is acting strong about it, but at some level you have to feel like the team has violated the trust you had for it. (I'm hesitant to use the word "it" because it has to feel more personal than that, as you interact with the people who are directly responsible for it on a daily basis).

It has to be a brutal experience for those players, and it will be cancerous for them this year and in the future, as contracts expire and players wonder about their perception as being systematic machines rather than as valued commodities.



Long story short: New Orleans gets valued individual pieces, which they can then send somewhere else for draft picks, young guys (maybe either or both of these with expirings, who knows.). The real point is that New Orleans is fucked as it is.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

The League owns the Hornets which means the other 29 teams have to be okay with their payroll. I just don't see the Hornets as a cap ceiling team. Especially when all they're going to do is get knocked out in the 1st round of the playoffs at best.

I think the payroll more than anything else is the reason Stern vetoed the deal. It will be interesting to see if the three teams are able to tweak the trade to Stern's liking.