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Oops, Collusionists.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...-deal/?print=1Spurs' Gregg Popovich rethinks Pau Gasol deal
Spurs coach concedes deal worked for Griz
By Ronald Tillery
Friday, January 29, 2010
SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich still believes the Grizzlies changed the landscape of the Western Conference for the foreseeable future.
Once a major critic of the February 2008 decision to trade Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers, Popovich now concedes Memphis also made out good in the deal.
"They gave up a great player but it helped them extend the franchise's success into the future," Popovich said. "It's shown that they've done a good job. Whatever they were thinking a couple of iterations ahead at the time has paid off for them."
Popovich's immediate reaction to the Gasol deal wasn't as kind.
Popovich, who also serves as the Spurs' president of basketball operations, called the trade that sent Gasol to the Lakers for draft picks and salary-cap flexibility an incomprehensible deal.
The Griz received Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, the rights to Marc Gasol and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010.
"What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension," Popovich said at the time. "There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense. I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades. I would have voted no to the L.A. trade."
What Popovich -- or no one -- could forecast is that Marc Gasol would evolve into a top NBA center, and the Griz could eventually use money under the salary-cap to acquire Zach Randolph in a trade.
Randolph is the only Western Conference player averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He was named a Western Conference All-Star for the first time in his nine-year career Thursday when the coaches voted him in as a reserve.
The Gasol trade was frowned upon nationally and locally in part because the Grizzlies' benefits would be seen over time.
"When you make decisions you try to make them good," Popovich said. "Obviously, the decision they (the Grizzlies) made then has served them well in the future, which is now."
Oops, Collusionists.
BUT, BUT it was Stern!!!
LOL just read the 1st sentence.
I did but Alanon argued this very point sice the deal went down ...and all many have done has killed him for it ...
Thanks for remembering Killa. Props to 2Cleva for finding the article.
There were some other fellow Lakerfans that felt the same way...Cobbler, Killa, 21_blessings and PGDynasty and a few others.
But to be honest, with this acknowledgement from Pop, the argument has come full circle since his original comment started most of it.
I'm done with the whole "collusion" cliche. I won't bring it up again unless somebody else does. Maybe I'll do it for laughs when Marc makes the All Star team.
I didn't like the deal at first, no doubt. But it seems as though the deal is even, if not in favor of the Grizz. Marc Gasol is a monster, and has the ability to be better than his brother. He's definitely a better defender, and a more authentic Center than Pau. But at the same time, no one knew that was going to happen when the trade went down. Bad trade at the time, evened out in the future, though.
lol Crittenton
ing idiot.
The thing is as I hang out in memphhis they LOVE Marc ...
his toughness combined with basketball IQ and smarts ...Marc would not of worked with Bynum but the Gasol brothers would of been a nice frontcourt
i'll also say this
it's cheating a bit to include ZBO
But just countig the picks and Marc I would say trade favors Lakers 60-40 cuz we have a le ...
if you factor Zbo it flips to even cuz of le ...
On just talent and money saved? they won the trade ...
Last edited by Killakobe81; 01-31-2010 at 12:04 AM.
If anybody thinks this was Chris Wallace's plan when he traded Gasol, you're full of .
The odds that they could trade for Randolph and that he would be a good citizen instead of a cancer were lower than the odds of Jerry Buss "dating" somebody over 30.
CIA Pop. he just moved on
Unlike most here Pop can admit when he is wrong ....
Moving Pau's salary allowed them to get Randolph.
who did the spurs give up for Jefferson? Did they give up a prospect like marc gasol. they gave up effing bowen who was done and just retired,and that gimp old center guy who i cant even think of
agreed^ but Wallace did not know that at time ...
Never really had a problem with this deal. It was no secret that Marc Gasol was going to be a strong player. Surprised the Spurs FO, renowned for their overseas scouting, never had their eye on Marc Gasol. Maybe all their big man eggs were in the Splitter basket during that time?
As long as Memphis has Mike Conley Jr running the point, they will never be a complete team.
Allanon, I'd say 99% still disagree even though you tried pimping the trade.
When the deal was done maybe only about 5% of the people thought Gasol would be as good as he is now. I thought at best he might be 10 and 8 type of player. I seriously doubt Memphis had any clue he would be this good and I doubt anyone knew that Marc would lose that much weight over the summer to help better his game. Losing the weight has helped him a lot.
As far as Randolph goes you could probably say 0% people on this board thought he would be an NBA All-Star.
Read the first sentence. I am pretty sure Pop still does not agree with the trade at all. He is just saying that Memphis took a big risk and it looks like it is paying off for them. What else is he going to say? He can't say they suck and it's not looking like a good trade. He is just stating the obvious.
I would have given it a 5% chance of actually paying off when the trade was done. Looks like they may have won a lottery of sorts. It's more luck than it was planned to turn out this way. You can't tell me you thought Memphis would be this good this season.
Last edited by Ice009; 01-31-2010 at 01:09 AM.
If I had a choice to have either Pau or Marc on the Spurs I would probably chose Marc, but that is only after seeing him play against the Spurs. Watching him before that in International compe ion I wouldn't have ever taken him over Pau.
I just liked Marc's toughness and he didn't cry and scream anytime he got near the basket like Pau does. lol plus he seems to like the Spurs which is usually a plus in my book.
If you trade me your home for a lottery ticket and you win the lottery, that doesn't a good trade make.
Marc doesn’t impress with his potential; he’s a below average athlete by NBA standards, lacking quickness and leaping ability. The guy is just a good player, plain and simple. Considering he’s 7-1 and a very strong guy, to think about the possibility of him going undrafted is out of the picture, while the first round shouldn’t be an impossible task, even if his most likely outcome at this point seems to be somewhere in the early second round.
DraftExpress 2007
Thats the guy the Lakers drafted at #48, and thats the guy the Grizz got in the trade. The Lakers even took Sun Yue at #40 with their other pick, obviously they didnt think that highly of Gasol knowing he was likely being picked in that 40-50 range.
That's what I was trying to say basically they won a lottery. They definitely had no idea they'd be in the position they are in now when that trade was made.
Yet Laker fan talks about him like he was a lock to be a 15-10 guy by his second year, even though the Laker brass thought Sun Yue was the better prospect.
Then why did Chris Wallace come out right after the trade claiming that Marc Gasol was a 'big part' of the trade?
Marc would have been a LOTTERY pick had he waited a year to come out. He was winning the ACB MVP which is arguably the toughest league in Europe. Most considered Marc the best player in Europe at the time of the trade.
The deal does not happen without Marc Gasol in the package. Good trade for the both teams.
Because Marc Gasol was the best player out of the ones they traded for. They can't say they made the trade for Kwame Brown because then they'd look like even bigger idiots.
Give me some quotes and links with people saying Marc was the best player in Europe. First time I heard that is when Lakers fans started saying it.
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