The Lakers are now close to being a super team again.

[frozensolid_702]

For the few on this forum that watch NBA basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers just picked up Pau Gasol.


Pau Gasol!!!!




Gasol is an absolute beast, and the only reason that he's not much more recognized is because he spent his career with the Grizzlies.

Can you imagine what the Lakers starting 5 is gonna look like when Bynum gets back!?




C: Andrew Bynum
PF: Pau Gasol
SF: Lamar Odom
SG: Kobe Bryant
PG: Derek Fisher/Jordan Farmar



IMO, the Lakers are now the favorite in the West to win it all.

[RP33]

For the few on this forum that watch NBA basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers just picked up Pau Gasol.


Pau Gasol!!!!




Gasol is an absolute beast, and the only reason that he's not much more recognized is because he spent his career with the Grizzlies.

Can you imagine what the Lakers starting 5 is gonna look like when Bynum gets back!?




C: Andrew Bynum
PF: Pau Gasol
SF: Lamar Odom
SG: Kobe Bryant
PG: Derek Fisher/Jordan Farmar



IMO, the Lakers are now the favorite in the West to win it all.

Definitely a huge pick up, but a favorite to win it all? jumping the gun a bit.. The West is a ridiculously deep conference and i'd give the Spurs, New Orleans, Suns, Mavs and possibly more teams a chance to beat them in a 7-game series.. The Lakers have depth, and they're definitely a much more talented team now, but i give them another year or two before they become a bigger force in the West.. They need to gel as a team like the Spurs have all these years.

But then again, I hope they make it to the finals cause i give my Celts a good chance against them .. but not so much against the Spurs.

[DAVIDTUA]

its about time huh

[CutMeMick]

I sware as god as my witnes a friend of mine threw a BBQ at his house friday because the Lakers sold Kwame....

I printed out a banner that said 'Thank God Kwame is GONE' for him. A shit load of Laker fans showed up...

I'm a Bulls fan. Always have always will with or without Jordan, with or without Phil.
One thing I am is faithful to my teams. The Bulls will be a top team we've def. got the talent all we need is a leader in the court. We've got a lot of key players but every team needs a leader, if we can find one we'll go straight to the top.
We also need a good coach.

[OumaFan]

Am I wrong or did the Lakers not trade Caron Butler for Kwame?

That's good management.

[frozensolid_702]

Am I wrong or did the Lakers not trade Caron Butler for Kwame?

That's good management.

Butler for Kwame Brown was a horrible move at first.


But now that they traded Kwame Brown and a couple draft picks for Pau Gasol, it's briliant.


BTW............. I'm not even a Lakers fan, but have always been a fan of Pau Gasol for some reason.

[Bookkeeper]

Boston the best in the east and LA the best in the west, looks like it could be a replay of the 80's again

[boozeboxer]

Butler for Kwame Brown was a horrible move at first.


But now that they traded Kwame Brown and a couple draft picks for Pau Gasol, it's briliant.


BTW............. I'm not even a Lakers fan, but have always been a fan of Pau Gasol for some reason.

Kwame was a tool. I would rather lose w/o him than have his dumb ass on my team.

[CutMeMick]

I gotta say Paul fits well there with the LakeShow....

It's only 1 game so we'll see if they can keep it up the rest of the way.

[RP33]

MORE IMPORTANTLY

Shaq to the Suns?!?! Hell yeah..

The suns are my team in the West, and now I like them even more.. It's interesting because i've hated every team Shaq has played for until now.. It's gonna feel good having him on my side this time.. When Shaq comes back, even if he averages 7-10 rebs and 12-20 pts a game the Suns will be RIDICULOUS.. Although it will be interesting to see how they use him in their run and gun scheme.. He will be more of a defensive part of the team, and a big part of their half court offense.. Going to be interesting to say the least. Amare can now move over to the 4 and play to his potential and not have to worry about being the "center" on the team.

[CutMeMick]

MORE IMPORTANTLY

Shaq to the Suns?!?! Hell yeah..

The suns are my team in the West, and now I like them even more.. It's interesting because i've hated every team Shaq has played for until now.. It's gonna feel good having him on my side this time.. When Shaq comes back, even if he averages 7-10 rebs and 12-20 pts a game the Suns will be RIDICULOUS.. Although it will be interesting to see how they use him in their run and gun scheme.. He will be more of a defensive part of the team, and a big part of their half court offense.. Going to be interesting to say the least. Amare can now move over to the 4 and play to his potential and not have to worry about being the "center" on the team.

Shaqs a huge gamble tho, he's at a point in his career where everything hurts.
Also what I'm trying to picture here is HOW IN THE HELL IS SHAQ SUPPOSE TO KEEP UP WITH THE SUNS 'SPEED' PLAY STYLE...

[CFH]

MORE IMPORTANTLY

Shaq to the Suns?!?! Hell yeah..

The suns are my team in the West, and now I like them even more.. It's interesting because i've hated every team Shaq has played for until now.. It's gonna feel good having him on my side this time.. When Shaq comes back, even if he averages 7-10 rebs and 12-20 pts a game the Suns will be RIDICULOUS.. Although it will be interesting to see how they use him in their run and gun scheme.. He will be more of a defensive part of the team, and a big part of their half court offense.. Going to be interesting to say the least. Amare can now move over to the 4 and play to his potential and not have to worry about being the "center" on the team.

I don't watch much basketball, but the Suns are my favorite team because of Steve Nash, who is a local hero around here. The Shaq deal is a bit of a risk because of his injuries, but it could pay huge dividends as well.

[frozensolid_702]

Shaqs a huge gamble tho, he's at a point in his career where everything hurts.
Also what I'm trying to picture here is HOW IN THE HELL IS SHAQ SUPPOSE TO KEEP UP WITH THE SUNS 'SPEED' PLAY STYLE...

Shaq is still deceptively quick for a man his size..... even at his old age. I don't think that it's gonna be too much of a problem.


I don't see Shaq being able to carry a team anymore, but he's an incredible "role player," that knows what it takes to win an NBA championship (as evidenced by his 4 rings) and will be much better than he has this year (maybe last year too) because he's playing alongside Amare Stoudemire.

Don't forget, that in the NBA offseason, Shawn Marion was more than hinting that he would be happier elsewhere. As for Marcus Banks (another UNLV alumni) he hasn't ever really turned into anything.

This was a great move for both the Lakers and the Heat, IMO.

[RP33]

Shaqs a huge gamble tho, he's at a point in his career where everything hurts.
Also what I'm trying to picture here is HOW IN THE HELL IS SHAQ SUPPOSE TO KEEP UP WITH THE SUNS 'SPEED' PLAY STYLE...

Here is how i see it Mick.. If Shaq was going to a team that was going to rely on him to score points, then he would be a "huge gamble".. but not for the Suns.. The Suns always do well and get to the playoffs, but i'm pretty sure their best run was when they had Kurt Thomas at Center.. Kurt Thomas is horrible, but the fact that they actually had a big man was a difference maker.. For the way that the Suns play, he is not as much of a gamble.. He is coming in to be a role player and to make everyone around him better.. He's going to make Raja Bell, Nash, Barbosa etc much better.. The Suns got rid of a great player, but they will be able to run their offensive scheme without him.. Marion wanted out cause he wanted to be the "go to guy" on a team, and with the Sun's offensive play, there is no ONE go to guy.. That is why Shaq will do fine. There will be plenty of half-court opportunities for Shaq to do what he has to do.. He's still a beast in the paint and is a mismatch for almost all Centers in the NBA due to the fact that there really aren't many pure Centers left..

[boozeboxer]

I wish the suns still had Tim Thomas as a niche player...