Jespher
Starter
Since Cleveland already opened up the can of worms for Bibby leaving, I suggest something that would be much simpler to get done. Mike Bibby for Pau Gasol straight up. This would make the kings a bit younger, give us a taller, more solid front line, finally give us a shot blocker, and decent defender up front to bang with Ron, and allow us a great excuse to actually play some of our young players.
Memphis is in transition right now. They are trying to push the tempo and the score as much as possible, and are destined for the lottery this year anyways, with lots of savory bigs to choose from. If Pau is still as unhappy in memphis as he was once he returned from his foot injury, then it would also satisfy him to relocate.
The problem with this trade for us is who would play point guard. I like Ronnie Prices athleticism, but he doesn't seem ready for full time starting yet, Jason Hart is in the dog house, and Quincy Douby is still raw. I personally would like to see a starting line-up of Francisco Garcia, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest, Kenny Thomas, and Pau Gasol. I know that Francisco has some decision making problems, but he brings such energy on both sides, and his heart is always in the right place, to try to improve his game and help the team win. I think that this would be a great opportunity for him to shine with the playing time he'd get with the starters, and that his energy and defense would trump our his poor decision making.
This lineup would give us a defensive identity (finally), and would be veritile enough offensively to make things interesting. This would also strengthen our bench, to be able to bring in Shareef, Brad, John Salmons, Corliss, Douby, Williams, and Price. Another nice idea, would be to start Pau and Brad, with both Kenny and Shareef comming off of the bench (where they belong).
Just my personal opinion, but I like the look of this straight up trade. Those are the types of deals that GP likes to do anyways (see Christie for Mobely, Peja for Artest, Corliss for Christie...)
Key Trade Components
Mike Bibby $12.5 Million This Year (2 more years...maybe)
Pau Gasol $12.3 Million this year (4 more years)
Kings Post Trade Lineup
Francisco Garcia
Kevin Martin
Ron Artest
Kenny Thomas
Pau Gasol
Ronnie Price
Quincy Douby
John Salmons
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Brad Miller
Jason Hart
Corliss Williamson
Justin Williams
Vitaly Potapenko
For those of you wondering why the Grizzlies would even think about doing this...Mike Bibby's contract gives them much more financial flexibility, he's a clutch shooter, and him paired with Mike Miller and Rudy Gay would be very potent in their ne up tempo style. They're also destined for the lottery this year anyways, and are bound to find a cheaper replacement up front than Pau's big contract.
Memphis is in transition right now. They are trying to push the tempo and the score as much as possible, and are destined for the lottery this year anyways, with lots of savory bigs to choose from. If Pau is still as unhappy in memphis as he was once he returned from his foot injury, then it would also satisfy him to relocate.
The problem with this trade for us is who would play point guard. I like Ronnie Prices athleticism, but he doesn't seem ready for full time starting yet, Jason Hart is in the dog house, and Quincy Douby is still raw. I personally would like to see a starting line-up of Francisco Garcia, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest, Kenny Thomas, and Pau Gasol. I know that Francisco has some decision making problems, but he brings such energy on both sides, and his heart is always in the right place, to try to improve his game and help the team win. I think that this would be a great opportunity for him to shine with the playing time he'd get with the starters, and that his energy and defense would trump our his poor decision making.
This lineup would give us a defensive identity (finally), and would be veritile enough offensively to make things interesting. This would also strengthen our bench, to be able to bring in Shareef, Brad, John Salmons, Corliss, Douby, Williams, and Price. Another nice idea, would be to start Pau and Brad, with both Kenny and Shareef comming off of the bench (where they belong).
Just my personal opinion, but I like the look of this straight up trade. Those are the types of deals that GP likes to do anyways (see Christie for Mobely, Peja for Artest, Corliss for Christie...)
Key Trade Components
Mike Bibby $12.5 Million This Year (2 more years...maybe)
Pau Gasol $12.3 Million this year (4 more years)
Kings Post Trade Lineup
Francisco Garcia
Kevin Martin
Ron Artest
Kenny Thomas
Pau Gasol
Ronnie Price
Quincy Douby
John Salmons
Shareef Abdur-Rahim
Brad Miller
Jason Hart
Corliss Williamson
Justin Williams
Vitaly Potapenko
For those of you wondering why the Grizzlies would even think about doing this...Mike Bibby's contract gives them much more financial flexibility, he's a clutch shooter, and him paired with Mike Miller and Rudy Gay would be very potent in their ne up tempo style. They're also destined for the lottery this year anyways, and are bound to find a cheaper replacement up front than Pau's big contract.
