Lakers pursuing Howard and Paul - are we screwed?

[ItStaysYang]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/7321631/sources-los-angeles-lakers-want-dwight-howard-chris-paul

http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

Not looking good for Boston's chances if all of that is true. LA will win rings for the next 8 years straight

[ACF]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/7321631/sources-los-angeles-lakers-want-dwight-howard-chris-paul

http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

Not looking good for Boston's chances if all of that is true. LA will win rings for the next 8 years straight

Wasn't that what they said in South Beach last year? 

Not good for the fans. Well, the casual fan is going to love it. The two most popular NBA teams clawing at each other in a modern rivalry. My goodness, Herr Stern is going to love it, too. But fans like us are going to have to stock up on barf bags...

[PosImpos]

yeah, with 2 or more stars in LA, NYC, and MIA, casual fans would flock to the nba like never before.  but more hardcore fans of the nba would probably be turned off -- especially fans of rival teams like the celtics.


basically, the OKC thunder would be the only reason to follow the nba at all.

[USG]

"We'd like to trade for the premiere point guard and center in the league. Will an aging guy with the "soft" label and a player who's now best known for cheap shots and quitting on his team get this done?"

"..."

"Is that a yes?"

[Who]

One of those teams would need to be interested in a package based around Pau Gasol.

Give his age, 31 years old, it's not a given that either team would be willing to accept him as a centerpiece to a trade.

It's also not beyond the realm of possibility. I don't think New Orleans would but Orlando might try to win instead of going into a full blown rebuilding process. A last stab by Otis Smith to save his job before he is unceremoniously fired. An Odom + Pau package would certainly give them that opportunity.

[celtics2]

We'll of course we are screwed. LA has had the upper hand on us for decades. Their management skills make Boston look like a lemonade stand.

[PosImpos]

"We'd like to trade for the premiere point guard and center in the league. Will an aging guy with the "soft" label and a player who's now best known for cheap shots and quitting on his team get this done?"

"..."

"Is that a yes?"

while i agree the trades would be far fetched, let's remember a couple of things:

a) the pau gasol trade was similarly far fetched.  more so, actually

b) bynum and gasol were key players on two championship teams.  at times in the last few seasons bynum was absolutely pivotal for the lakers' success, and pau gasol was actually probably the best player in the 2010 finals.

One of those teams would need to be interested in a package based around Pau Gasol.

Give his age, 31 years old, it's not a given that either team would be willing to accept him as a centerpiece to a trade.

It's also not beyond the realm of possibility. I don't think New Orleans would but Orlando might try to win instead of going into a full blown rebuilding process. A last stab by Otis Smith to save his job before he is unceremoniously fired. An Odom + Pau package would certainly give them that opportunity.

yeah, the desire of the magic to try to stay competitive worries me; i could see them going for an odom / gasol package in that scenario.

nelson / richardson / artest / odom / gasol would be a playoff team in the east for sure.

We'll of course we are screwed. LA has had the upper hand on us for decades. Their management skills make Boston look like a lemonade stand.

if by "management skills" you mean "having mountains of cash" and "being able to offer the most enticing location in the nba," then you're correct.

[Jon]

One of those teams would need to be interested in a package based around Pau Gasol.

Give his age, 31 years old, it's not a given that either team would be willing to accept him as a centerpiece to a trade.

It's also not beyond the realm of possibility. I don't think New Orleans would but Orlando might try to win instead of going into a full blown rebuilding process. A last stab by Otis Smith to save his job before he is unceremoniously fired. An Odom + Pau package would certainly give them that opportunity.

Exactly. I wouldn't hold my breath on this one. I'm not so sure Pau is going to appeal to either team given his age. With Odom, it's even worse.

And while Bynum has appeal, given his injury history, both teams might find better options.  Plus, I'm not sure either GM wants to be known as the guy who gave the Lakers a new dynasty.

I'm worried, but it is far from a done deal.

[bdm860]

yeah, with 2 or more stars in LA, NYC, and MIA, casual fans would flock to the nba like never before.  but more hardcore fans of the nba would probably be turned off -- especially fans of rival teams like the celtics.


basically, the OKC thunder would be the only reason to follow the nba at all.

I don’t know if I’d say the hardcore fans will be turned off (or screwed).  As unstoppable as the Heat and Knicks were last year, they sure looked stoppable in the playoffs.  Or like when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers in ’04, oh no they’re unstoppable, but actually it turned out they were.  It’s more satisfying when you beat a super team, as opposed to a not-so-great team.

I think people actually cheer harder when they’re rooting against something (as opposed to rooting for something).  Quick question: did you root harder for the Celtics when they played a LeBron team (Cavs/Heat) or when they played a similarly tough foe in Orlando?  Celtic fans from the ‘80s, were you rooting harder when the C’s played the Lakers in the Finals or the Rockets?  Same thing for Red Sox fans, you know beating the Yankees in the playoffs is better than beating any other AL team (and I know some who say even better than winning the World Series).  Maybe you’ll say you were rooting equally hard, but I know I’m rooting harder when my team plays a team I hate.   Also if my team loses to a team I hate (unless it’s the Finals) it now makes me more interested in the next series.  I was more interested in the Heat/Bulls series and Heat/Mavs series than I normally would have been because I wanted to see the Heat lose so badly.  So this could be good for the hardcore fan too (unless you’re a hardcore fan of the Magic or Hornets  ).

[wdleehi]

If the Celtics were ready to move any and all of the four stars, they could be in the same position. 

[PosImpos]

yeah, with 2 or more stars in LA, NYC, and MIA, casual fans would flock to the nba like never before.  but more hardcore fans of the nba would probably be turned off -- especially fans of rival teams like the celtics.


basically, the OKC thunder would be the only reason to follow the nba at all.

I don’t know if I’d say the hardcore fans will be turned off (or screwed).  As unstoppable as the Heat and Knicks were last year, they sure looked stoppable in the playoffs.  Or like when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers in ’04, oh no they’re unstoppable, but actually it turned out they were.  It’s more satisfying when you beat a super team, as opposed to a not-so-great team.

I think people actually cheer harder when they’re rooting against something (as opposed to rooting for something).  Quick question: did you root harder for the Celtics when they played a LeBron team (Cavs/Heat) or when they played a similarly tough foe in Orlando?  Celtic fans from the ‘80s, were you rooting harder when the C’s played the Lakers in the Finals or the Rockets?  Same thing for Red Sox fans, you know beating the Yankees in the playoffs is better than beating any other AL team (and I know some who say even better than winning the World Series).  Maybe you’ll say you were rooting equally hard, but I know I’m rooting harder when my team plays a team I hate.   Also if my team loses to a team I hate (unless it’s the Finals) it now makes me more interested in the next series.  I was more interested in the Heat/Bulls series and Heat/Mavs series than I normally would have been because I wanted to see the Heat lose so badly.  So this could be good for the hardcore fan too (unless you’re a hardcore fan of the Magic or Hornets  ).

a) payton and malone joining the lakers in their prime would have been much different than what actually happened -- they both joined at the end of their careers


b) yes, i am a lot more engaged when the celtics / red sox / patriots are playing and truly competing with a team i hate.  but when the league is dominated by a team i hate, and i don't feel that the team i love really has a chance, im more likely to be turned off, unless there is some other team that rises up to be a spoiler (as the mavericks did this summer).  id say, however, that if the lakers became a superteam and the heat put together a decent supporting cast, the likelihood of any team acting as a spoiler would seem rather remote, other than perhaps the thunder.

[LB3533]

I really think Gasol gets an unfair negative rap.

Pau is a very good player, an excellent offensive player and adequate defender.

He may not be a center piece to a trade, but he's not a slouchy guy to have on your roster.

[PosImpos]

I really think Gasol gets an unfair negative rap.

Pau is a very good player, an excellent offensive player and adequate defender.

He may not be a center piece to a trade, but he's not a slouchy guy to have on your roster.

certainly not.  he's one of the top 5 big men in the league, and perhaps the most skilled / well-rounded for his size (besides, perhaps, dirk).

[Moranis]

Gasol, Odom, Blake, Caracter, 2 firsts

for

Howard and Arenas


A third team could also enter into the equation to take Odom, like say the Kings who get Odom and Ebanks from L.A. and send Thompson to Orlando

[PosImpos]

Gasol, Odom, Blake, Caracter, 2 firsts

for

Howard and Arenas


A third team could also enter into the equation to take Odom, like say the Kings who get Odom and Ebanks from L.A. and send Thompson to Orlando

arenas will almost certainly be amnestied.  i don't see any scenario in which the magic hold onto him or any team agrees to trade for him.  once a team has traded for him they cannot amnesty him.