[Chron] Gasol Take 2? Yes, Please

aiiite aiiite .. dun b hatin' yallll... iff yhu havn been livin' unda a rock den yhu wudda known dat dis team is not goin' 2 tank at all .. itz very obvious dat les alexanda da owner wun let uz tank .. so datz y we been gettin' 14th pikkz faw 3 straight yrz...

no one iz gnnna trade uz a top pick mayn... we been tryna mov' up faw eerry draft buh we can't ... no wun wantz our crap

 

Yeah, I'd really like it if the Rox could somehow land both Gasol brothers.

 

Why do we have to spend those #assets on one player if that's all it nets? It's not like the only options are this guy or some other guy. I don't know what the real options are frankly...I'm not sure any of us do. I just know that the net of that trade doesn't make this team a contender.

 

well we can wait and see, like we've done for the last 3 years.

but evidently all that ends up happening is we trade this asset for another asset, then this asset starts to bloom and another asset declines in value, etc etc.

like we got ariza right? and everyone was totally excited. then we trade him for courtney lee. who are basically the same players(you may argue ones better but its not signicant when it comes to trading for stars). then aaron brooks blows up but next season he starts sucking and you get the rest of the story.

no one wants to trade us a pick which they own in the top 10. we are not going to tank. so the only thing we can do is trade.

this team really needs to make a move. i know gasol would instantly be the best player on our team. and thats 1000 times better than getting another .500 season.

 

Just because something is broken doesn't mean that every idea to fix it is a real solution. It may only compound the problem...

I too know that Pau would be the best player on this team. That's my problem with this trade. I don't think that makes us appreciably better.

 

Nobody says a top 15 player is necessarily "the best player on a team that is a real contender." Given that there are 30-teams out there, the 15th best player in the league might well only be the best player on a middle seed (or maybe even low seed) playoff team, depending on the talent distribution. Some of them are even on lottery teams. Gasol was that in Memphis. Yao Ming and McGrady were that in Houston. Hell, Kobe was the best player on a lower seed playoff team back before Gasol joined him.

Gasol has his flaws, much like Yao Ming did even when he was healthy. But it doesn't mean you want him on the roster as a foundation piece.

By the way, nothing requires the Rockets to stop adding talent once they get Gasol. Even if you trade for Gasol using, say, Lowry + Scola or Lowry + Martin, or even Lowry+Scola+Martin (in some sort of package), there are still plenty of ways to improve the team or even acquire elite-level players via trades, cap room/free agency, or drafts. Gasol's $19 million + salary might look large at first glance, but it in no way prevents the Rockes from maneuvering themselves into significant cap room.

 

Do not want Gasol. I can't imagine how having him as the best player on our team is going to make us matter....much like it never mattered for Memphis, frankly.

You can call him 15th or whatever...the question is, do you trust building around him for the next few years...I absolutely positively don't. His 11 ppg over his last 10 playoff games don't speak real well for him...but the lack of urgency or intensity he seems to bring to playoff games makes me not want to have anything to do with him, whatsoever.

Not interested. I know what the guy is...and if he's the best piece on the team going forward, you're maybe a 7th/8th seed, but you're just as likely to be counting ping pong balls. I don't think he's an answer that addresses what this franchise really needs. I think it would be a mistake to bring him in at this point of his career given where the Rockets are.

 

Fixed it for ya.

 

Regardless of whether or not Gasol as our best player will take us anywhere, and I'm on the fence on the topic... But it's depressing how much Rockets fans belittle our own talent.

Using the Memphis comparison is like saying the Rockets roster currently(minus players traded for Gasol), is on par with having Mike Miller, Shane Battier, 34yr old Eddie Jones, 31yr old, Bobby Jackson, and Lorenzo Wright.

I'd like to think our players are worth a little more than that.

 

I would argue that having Gasol would make it easier to attract elite talent like Dwight or Deron.

Gasol as the 2nd best player on our team would be great.

 

I'm not equating the 2...I just think ultimately this is a star's league. You ride those guys where they take you. I don't think having Gasol be the best player on our team takes us anywhere significant. Given that, I'm not into giving up massive components off this roster for him...which actually shows more respect for the roster, I'd argue.

I want change..massive fundamental change. I just don't want Pau Gasol as the fruit of that change.

 

I went back and forth about Gasol in December, but he's done a great job this season reminding me how much I don't want him as a key figure of this team. He was a phony franchise player in Memphis, all too happily took a backseat in LA, and has continuously been exposed as a sap down low on defense. And I believe the risk of him pulling an Odom after a trade is decently high.

Last night's no show was alarming. He's complacent as a player and rarely demonstrates any level of determinition, grit, or want. How is he going to react going from Los Angeles, a contender, to halfway-rebuilding Houston?

That's a lot of salary to commit for two years of a marshmellow soft big.

I still look at his best upside as an asset for Dwight Howard.

Lowry-Scola-Dalembert is the only package that seems to make much sense without a third team, assuming you get a verbal commitment from Dragic first. And man, that's a good deal for Los Angeles...something that kills me.

If we're going to overspend to get a 5 in place, I'd far rather throw cash at Hibbert, Hawes, or even Asik or Fesenko. I don't love him either, but given the choice, I think I'd rather bring in Brook Lopez than Gasol, rebounding issues be damned.

If I were Morey, my plan would still be to godfather offer the Magic to send over Dwight.

But I will agree SOMETHING has to be done about our situation at the 4-5. We're one of the very worst in the league in that regard.

 

1. "Build around" a player is just a sports cliche. The real question is whether you want a guy on the roster at a particular salary. Whether or not the Rockets have Gasol, they will look to add talent, in particular other top 10/top 15 type players. Gasol may or may not make them a contender by himself, but he does put them in a better position to become a contender by acquiring additional talent.


2. So, what is the solution to you then? Go after Eric Gordon or Roy Hibbert? Do these guys make you a contender? Wait until you can get Dwight Howard or Lebron James?

Tank and hope the guy you draft is better than Gasol?

Same here, but it's up to Orlando whether they would do a trade with Houston. Dwight Howard has his own host of issues, too (back injury, drama queen, etc.).

 

1. Build around a player is not at all a sports cliche in a league with a salary cap. How anyone could have watched the Rockets during the Hakeem era and not think that franchises build around a player is beyond me. You have a guy like that...you keep him and you move the parts around until you find the right mix around him. That's building around a player. When you give up a bunch of your starters and are left with 3 years at around $19 million per year, you're building around that player whether you want to or not.

2. I don't know the solution. What are the other options? I'm not sure. Not knowing the other options doesn't mean that we have to choose this one, though.

 

Gasol again?? is that still a thing?

 

For all we know, the Rockets may no longer be interested. He's a year older and the Rockets may be targeting other guys.

 

move on with Pau..

 

A team with the following starting lineup won 49 games.

C: Jake Tsakalidis
PF: Player G
SF: Shane Battier
SG: Eddie Jones(age 34)
PG: Chucky Atkins

Do you believe "Player G" to be a star or not a star?

 

How many years ago? Did they make any noise in the Playoffs?

Smh. Look at the present, not the past. Presently, he sucks.

 

Presently, as in the last few games?

Because Gasol was pretty good this season. And if the Lakers win next game, the knee-jerk perception of Gasol will likely change again.