Should Chris Wallace take a picture with the Larry O'Brien trophy tonight?

[MaNu4Tres]

Discuss...

[EricB]

Whos Chris Wallace?

[celldweller]

^ The Gifter!

[EricB]

Is he the owner of the Grizzlies?

[Mel_13]

http://www.foxnews.com/bios/img/wallace3.jpg

[timvp]

http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A6259/62591/300_62591.jpg

[ShoogarBear]

Don't blame Wallace. He was just following through on the plan.

http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/images/2007/04/18/jerry_west_2.jpg

[timvp]

The Lakers held a viewing party at the Staples Center tonight. When the final horn sounded, there was poignant moment.
























http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/images/2007/04/18/jerry_west_2.jpg

:smokin

[daslicer]

I think the Lakers should also have a parade in Memphis considering they had huge role in this. Give the Grizzlies an honorary championship banner.

[timvp]

A ShoogarBear edit ruined my joke :depressed

[noob cake]

We all know that Memphis is grooming Mayo to be Kobe's replacement anyways.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I always :lol when I see that picture.

[21_Blessings]

Otis Smith deserves a ring as well. Thanks for Ariza! Bigger steal than the Gasol trade. The Lakers gave up nothing but dead weight for Ariza. With Gasol, they gave up a big expiring contract, 3 draft picks, a prospect and a solid starting center.

[MaNu4Tres]

Otis Smith deserves a ring as well. Thanks for Ariza! Bigger steal than the Gasol trade. The Lakers gave up nothing but dead weight for Ariza. With Gasol, they gave up a big expiring contract, 3 draft picks, a prospect and a solid starting center.

2 late 1st rounders. Not 3 for a Top 7 big man in the NBA. Which are very hard to come by and should be highly valued in the first place.

But Chris Wallace is an idiot and didn't really understand the value in having a great big man.

[21_Blessings]

one of those late first roundres was Darrel Arthur and he's looked good so far

By virtue of Pau being off the team, Memphis was able to get two top 5 lottery picks while in a rebuilding phase. That doesn't happen with Pau playing for them.

Marc Gasol is a top 10 center at this point, only 23.

Enough cap space to sign a better player than Pau Gasol in 2010 or 09.

Face it, it was a good trade from a rebuilding stand point. Memphis has a great future.

[GSH]

one of those late first roundres was Darrel Arthur and he's looked good so far

By virtue of Pau being off the team, Memphis was able to get two top 5 lottery picks while in a rebuilding phase. That doesn't happen with Pau playing for them.

Marc Gasol is a top 10 center at this point, only 23.

Enough cap space to sign a better player than Pau Gasol in 2010 or 09.

Face it, it was a good trade from a rebuilding stand point. Memphis has a great future.


And that was the LA Gay Men's Chorus, singing "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life".


http://www.nathantaylor.co.uk/spam_bright1.jpg

[EricB]

Otis Smith deserves a ring as well. Thanks for Ariza! Bigger steal than the Gasol trade. The Lakers gave up nothing but dead weight for Ariza. With Gasol, they gave up a big expiring contract, 3 draft picks, a prospect and a solid starting center.


Nope.

Fail.

[Spurm]

Whiney spurm fans...Your team is done and has no future..Face it bitches!

[nevitt_&_smrek]

I'm new, so I first want to say I hope you guys retool quickly. The postseason isn't as fun without battling the Spurs for western conference supremacy.

As for the question topic: blame should go to all the teams that decided to pass when they had the chance to acquire Pau Gasol, no? For some reason, nobody wanted him while he was on the trading block for like two years.

The Memphis franchise was bleeding money, and the owner decided to dump salary. Bynum got hurt, the Lakers went looking for a big man and had the largest expiring contract to offer. It was luck, not some conspiracy. It's easy to be envious, but aren't you the franchise that won the lottery twice and cashed in by drafting two of greatest big men ever?

As far as Trevor Ariza is concerned, maybe the Lakers just have a keen eye for talent. And a coaching staff that knows how to utilize him. He could have easily faded away, mired on some team's deep bench, had the Lakers not traded for him.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I'm new, so I first want to say I hope you guys retool quickly. The postseason isn't as fun without battling the Spurs for western conference supremacy.

As for the question topic: blame should go to all the teams that decided to pass when they had the chance to acquire Pau Gasol, no? For some reason, nobody wanted him while he was on the trading block for like two years.

The Memphis franchise was bleeding money, and the owner decided to dump salary. Bynum got hurt, the Lakers went looking for a big man and had the largest expiring contract to offer. It was luck, not some conspiracy. It's easy to be envious, but aren't you the franchise that won the lottery twice and cashed in by drafting two of greatest big men ever?

As far as Trevor Ariza is concerned, maybe the Lakers just have a keen eye for talent. And a coaching staff that knows how to utilize him. He could have easily faded away, mired on some team's deep bench, had the Lakers not traded for him.

The very need to rationalize this deal is pathetic. Everyone knows what it was, trying to make up false excuses would achieve nothing but even more hate from the fans of the other 28 NBA teams, and rightly so.

As for your claims. Which teams passed on Pau? Truth is, neither of us knows what deals were on the table, so there is no point discussing whose offer could have been better. Thus we can only judge by the results. It's a fact that Pau was traded long before the trade deadline in a deal that was most deffinitely worth less than his trade value at the moment. It is also a fact that, according to articles, executives of other teams were surprised at the price Lakers paid and were sure there were/could have been, better deals for him. It is also a fact that Brown's contract was by far not the 'largest expiring contract', as you put it.

The deal is done, fair enough, but there is no need trying to justify it, you just won't be able to.

Congrats on winning the title.

[Thompson]

As BG said, if you're interested in getting the best deal for your team, you shop around and see what you can get before you deal. You don't listen to one and only one offer and make a quick deal. The Grizzlies could have gotten much better in return, and they had to know that. They were doing a buddy a 'solid.'

That said, congratulations Lakers. I doubt Pop brings up the asterisk, though he would certainly be more justified than Phil was.

[21_Blessings]

FACT is it was great trade for the Grizzlies in the rebuilding sense. That is how you rebuild Portland style. Clear cap space and build through the draft. That is how it worksin the modern era. Hanging on to Gasol would only keep them in fringe playoff team territory which equals failure. Just ask the Timberwolves.

[timvp]

FACT is it was great trade for the Grizzlies

:lmao

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

FACT is it was great trade for the Grizzlies in the rebuilding sense. That is how you rebuild Portland style. Clear cap space and build through the draft. That is how it worksin the modern era. Hanging on to Gasol would only keep them in fringe playoff team territory which equals failure. Just ask the Timberwolves.

Yea - such a great trade and rebuilding plan that they're more likely to relocate than make the playoffs in the next few years. Awesome job Jerry, uhh Chris.

[ShoogarBear]

and that was the la gay men's chorus, singing "always look on the bright side of life".


http://www.nathantaylor.co.uk/spam_bright1.jpg


rofl

[nevitt_&_smrek]

The very need to rationalize this deal is pathetic. Everyone knows what it was, trying to make up false excuses would achieve nothing but even more hate from the fans of the other 28 NBA teams, and rightly so.

As for your claims. Which teams passed on Pau? Truth is, neither of us knows what deals were on the table, so there is no point discussing whose offer could have been better. Thus we can only judge by the results. It's a fact that Pau was traded long before the trade deadline in a deal that was most deffinitely worth less than his trade value at the moment. It is also a fact that, according to articles, executives of other teams were surprised at the price Lakers paid and were sure there were/could have been, better deals for him. It is also a fact that Brown's contract was by far not the 'largest expiring contract', as you put it.

The deal is done, fair enough, but there is no need trying to justify it, you just won't be able to.

Congrats on winning the title.

John Paxson and the Bulls rejected offers from the Grizzlies on more than one occasion. Gasol was shopped around to other teams as well. In fact, his moving was a hot topic, but nothing ever got done for one reason or another. His moving was always one of the hot topics. For example:

http://tinyurl.com/njyqkp
I won't be able to do is get you to smile about the deal, and that's understandable. But that's how it went down. Bynum's injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and other teams just didn't pull the trigger.

[ShoogarBear]

A ShoogarBear edit ruined my joke :depressed

The joke was there; anyone could have come along and used it. You can't blame me because none of you would pull the trigger on it first.

[InRareForm]

FACT is it was great trade for the Grizzlies in the rebuilding sense. That is how you rebuild Portland style. Clear cap space and build through the draft. That is how it worksin the modern era. Hanging on to Gasol would only keep them in fringe playoff team territory which equals failure. Just ask the Timberwolves.

please shut up

[Spursfan092120]

http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A6259/62591/300_62591.jpg
:( Too soon..too soon...just like

http://gianvito.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/tupac9.jpg

[DPG21920]

Whos Chris Wallace?


Nope.

Fail.

[Jacko]

Why cry over spilled milk? What's done is done.

The bottom line is no franchise who purposefully tanked to get a #1 seed should ever be bitching about a lopsided trade.

[Lakers999]

Discuss...

should tim donaghy take a picture with the 06 and 07 champions??



Discuss

[Man In Black]

The bottom line is no franchise who purposefully tanked to get a #1 seed should ever be bitching about a lopsided trade.
The joke here is that you failed on so many levels here. A #1 seed? I think you mean a #1 draft pick. But then you fail to point out that the Spurs had a really small chance at the lottery to win Duncan. Then you also fail to point out, that DRob, Elliott, Chuck Person, and Charles Smith missed large parts of the season and finished with Dominique Wilkins as their leading scorer. Let's see how well the Lakers play should Kobe, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Andrew Bynum go out for an equal amount of games and see how they do....I already know...they'd suck.
What you call a tank job is in reality, a losing battle uphill that resulted in chance. Why tank, if you cannot control the outcome?
FAIL!

[draft87]

should tim donaghy take a picture with the 06 and 07 champions??



Discuss


what the hell are you talking about? seriously.

[TJastal]

John Paxson and the Bulls rejected offers from the Grizzlies on more than one occasion. Gasol was shopped around to other teams as well. In fact, his moving was a hot topic, but nothing ever got done for one reason or another. His moving was always one of the hot topics. For example:

http://tinyurl.com/njyqkp
I won't be able to do is get you to smile about the deal, and that's understandable. But that's how it went down. Bynum's injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and other teams just didn't pull the trigger.

Paxson rejected offers? Meaning what, they rejected Gasol? So your basically saying..... the only other team besides the lakers the grizz talked with didn't want Gasol anyway? Besides those "other mystery teams" they supposedly talked with that nobody knows about.

Grizz: Hey John, do want to trade for Pau Gasol?

John: Nope

Grizz: Ok, bye.

Grizz: See, we twiiiied weeeaw hawwwd.
:lol

:lol

[TwoHandJam]

Wallace: Think enough time has passed since you retired as GM now?
West: Yeah, you can pull the trigger on Gasol now.
Wallace: We'll still get his brother along with the cash though, right?
West: Yep. Pull the trigger.

I don't think I've seen a franchise big-man averaging 19/9 traded for capspace since I've been following the NBA. The Gasol trade and the Garnett trades were probably the 2 biggest examples of collusion I can remember in the league.

It doesn't surprise me that Stern turned a blind eye to this though. 4 years of SA and Detroit ruining ratings was enough for him.

[ambchang]

I failed stats.

[ambchang]

Wallace: Think enough time has passed since you retired as GM now?
West: Yeah, you can pull the trigger on Gasol now.
Wallace: We'll still get his brother along with the cash though, right?
West: Yep. Pull the trigger.

I don't think I've seen a franchise big-man averaging 19/9 traded for capspace since I've been following the NBA. The Gasol trade and the Garnett trades were probably the 2 biggest examples of collusion I can remember in the league.

It doesn't surprise me that Stern turned a blind eye to this though. 4 years of SA and Detroit ruining ratings was enough for him.

At least the Wolves got Jefferson back, and they were trying to do Garnett a favour by sending him to a franchise with enough around them (Garnett originally refused until the Allen trade happened).

The Gasol trade, there is really nothing that made any sense. Gasol was traded for marginal players and cap space for crying out loud.

[Jacko]

The Spurs organization purposefully tanked to try and get the #1 pick in the lottery. Everyone knows this. And frankly I don't give a shit, it's called competitive sports and you do whatever you have to do to win.

Don't sit here and pretend that the Lakers didn't earn this ring. They earned every ounce of it and were clearly the best team in the NBA all season long. Now give props, STFU, and go home and watch your '07 championship DVD because it's the last one your organization will ever see. Duncan will never again reach the NBA Finals in his career.

[rayray2k8]

Who??

[Thomas82]

Wallace: Think enough time has passed since you retired as GM now?
West: Yeah, you can pull the trigger on Gasol now.
Wallace: We'll still get his brother along with the cash though, right?
West: Yep. Pull the trigger.

I don't think I've seen a franchise big-man averaging 19/9 traded for capspace since I've been following the NBA. The Gasol trade and the Garnett trades were probably the 2 biggest examples of collusion I can remember in the league.
It doesn't surprise me that Stern turned a blind eye to this though. 4 years of SA and Detroit ruining ratings was enough for him.


At least the Wolves got Jefferson back, and they were trying to do Garnett a favor by sending him to a franchise with enough around them (Garnett originally refused until the Allen trade happened).
The Gasol trade, there is really nothing that made any sense. Gasol was traded for marginal players and cap space for crying out loud.


+1

The common denominator in both of these trades is that the men that were the most responsible for those trades used to play for the teams they traded to. Yeah, Chris Wallace was the one who pulled the trigger on the Gasol trade, but Jerry West made it happen.

[nevitt_&_smrek]

At least the Wolves got Jefferson back, and they were trying to do Garnett a favour by sending him to a franchise with enough around them (Garnett originally refused until the Allen trade happened).

The Gasol trade, there is really nothing that made any sense. Gasol was traded for marginal players and cap space for crying out loud.

A guy with a big contract was traded for other players and cap space. Gee, that never happens. Of course in this instance, the guy with the big contract was a diamond, not a guy like Zach Randolph, Tim Thomas, LaFrentz, Steve Francis, Kenyon Martin (big salary dump in 2004 for three future 1st round picks...nobody seems to care...), etc.

[SteelerNation]

Does this mean John Hammond gets a ring if the Spurs win it all next year?

[coyotes_geek]

Sure.

[timvp]

I'll give Karl Malone a ring if it meant the Spurs get #5.

[SteelerNation]

Ahhhh. I see. Its all good now.

[coyotes_geek]

Just for us. The lakers are still a bunch of cheating douchebags.

[SteelerNation]

We all knew you were bitter, coyote. No need to spell it out, son.

[coyotes_geek]

Not bitter. Just wanted to give you a mercy response for the reaction you were hoping to get.