Pau

[Bricklayer]

Well, we've had a few of these over the years, but its worth noting that a report surfaced yesterday that the Lakers 1) might be looking for a more scoring oriented PG to split time with Nash or even take over for him; and 2) that Pau was far from untouchable. The report also intimated the Lakers might be trying to make a major move before the regular seasons starts. So people are talking, thought I would start up a thread here.

Pau is 33, he's on an ending contract worth $19.3mil this year. He's not the guy he was a few years ago, but may or may not be better than the 13.7pts 8.6reb 4.1ast guy he was last year trying to mesh with Dwight in a D'Antoni offense. Its a big ending contract, if we tried to match we would have to stack up a lot of our smaller deals. But maybe if we sent the right package we might even be able to shed a little longer term money.

Anyway, anybody for trying to set up a new Vlade/Webber dynamic with old man Pau/Cousins? IT would be the obvious starting point BTW in case you missed what the Lakers were looking for.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I would love to have Pau Gasol. He's one of the most talented bigs we've ever seen and I do believe he's got several good years left in the tank, if he's in the right situation to make full use of his unique skills.

Great thing with him too, is you get true Center height/length, in a guy that plays with forward skills. Not necessarily a shot blocker, but none the less a very long pressence in the paint who can easily guard centers. Defensive versatility with plenty of options at both 4 & 5 matchups, is highly valuable.

I think he's one of the most valuable players in the league

 

[bajaden]

I've always like Pau! But he's an old 33. There are a lot of miles on that body. That doesn't mean he can't contribute for a few more years. The question is, who do we include in the deal. I get throwing IT in, but he's making peanuts. Right around a mil a year. The deal would almost have to include JT, and yet another player. Of course Salmons would be my preferred choice, but I doubt that would work in trade checker. In short, we would have to give up way too much to get him. Which is guess is fine if your trying to clear space for the next offseason. If thats the case, then throw in Thornton as well and we take our lumps.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Pau apparently has a 15% (!!) trade kicker on his contract, which means that he bumps up to $22.18M if he's traded. That means that by salary cap rules we'd have to send out at least $17.18M in salary to get Pau with no other players coming back. Isaiah is the meat - but he only makes $884K, so we've still got to send out $16.3M. Obviously we send Chuck. Now we're down to $10.57M. We send Jimmer. Uh-oh. We're at $8.13M. Thornton alone doesn't work. Salmons + Lockett doesn't work. That means that it's pretty much got to be Thornton + Lockett.

The two downsides to having to include Lockett in the deal are that (1) we can't make such a trade until December 15th, and (2) we have to keep Lockett instead of signing another big man to compensate for the Landry injury. We could in principle sign another big man at a deal higher than Lockett's with the intention of including him, but then the first trade date would be 1/15 - if we do it today - and then 3 months after signing if we delay. Seems unlikely. I'm not sure the Lakers would want to wait even for 12/15 if they're really looking to make such a move before the season.

On top of that, if we do a trade like this we'd end up sending out 5-for-1, which would leave us with 10 contracts (one of them still Salmons!) and a need to immediately sign two more guys.

Not that I don't think Pau would help the team, but I just don't think there's a plausible way to get it done. Sure, we could do Outlaw/Thornton (or Outlaw/Salmons) and keep Jimmer. That would allow us to do it now, but with Mbah A Moute's knee like it is...that's a gaping hole at SF. I want no part of trading Outlaw for non-SF right now.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I'm a big Jason Thompson fan, but he would have to be in the deal. Seems like a guy K Bryant would approve of as well.

 

[Warhawk]

I want no part of trading Outlaw for non-SF right now.

Did you ever think you would be typing that sentence?

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

To be frank, if we could somehow get Gasol, I wouldn't care if we had a good quality starting 3 at all.

Pau makes any decent 3 much better

 

[Hadlowe]

Pau is one of the most skilled low-post players in the game. Cousins needs a low-post mentor and there just aren't many better out there. It really depends on what the Kings would have to give up to get him.

D'antoni will want Patterson for a stretch 4. You may be able to talk them into taking Salmons for salary reasons and to back up Nick Young and Xavier Henry at the 3.

I may be wrong, but I think D'antoni would prefer Fredette as the point guard in the deal as a long-distance gunner. You can run Fredette on the floor with Kobe or Steve Blake. Might do the kid some good to have Nash mentor him as well. That helps the salary issue as well, with Fredette's 2.5 million vs. IT's 800k.

The trade I have is Thompson, Patterson, Salmons, Fredette for Pau. 2 capable 4's, one being a D'antoni stretch 4. Depth and injury insurance wing on an expiring, and Jimmer.

 

[randymoss1881]

Age won't matter with paul. He has skills that translate as you age and with his length and size I could see him posting a solid 13-8 for 4-5 years

 

[VF21]

The Lakers aren't going to take anything from us that doesn't involve a lot more than we're able to give. Since we're not gonna trade DFC, it's not gonna happen. My best guess is Gasol is gonna go to a team in the East.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Did you ever think you would be typing that sentence?

Well, I was never as far down on Outlaw as the world was. He never got any PT, and at the end of both seasons in Sac he had a pretty good showing in the final 10 games or so. He's no star, but with few other options (especially with Luc potentially on-again off-again with injuries) he can hold down the fort...probably much better than Salmons at this point.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

The trade I have is Thompson, Patterson, Salmons, Fredette for Pau. 2 capable 4's, one being a D'antoni stretch 4. Depth and injury insurance wing on an expiring, and Jimmer.

With Landry out for most of the season, that leaves us with Cousins/Gasol/Hayes as our entire frontcourt. No depth at all. We'd have to sign desperation guys like N'Diaye to actually play minutes (and imagine if there were an injury). I don't like that idea.

 

[The_Jamal]

Unfortuantely, we don't have the contracts to make it work.

I imagine the Lakers would at the very least want IT-JT and Salmons. IT-JT being the talent they like and Salmons being an ender. That's roughly 14.5 mil. Jimmer contract doesn't get us there. Hayes would leave us with 3 bigs on the roster. So You'd have to throw in Thornton into the deal. That would allow us to get some of the Lakers junk back.

That said, would you want to give 3 very good assets away, destroy our depth, for a guy who almost certainly would not resign with us? And would we even want him to resign with us?

I understand the idea of us essentially getting a reset on our cap. But I think you could ship IT, JT, Thornton out individually and actually get assets we can use in the future, like draft pic

 

[mac]

With Landry out for most of the season, that leaves us with Cousins/Gasol/Hayes as our entire frontcourt. No depth at all. We'd have to sign desperation guys like N'Diaye to actually play minutes (and imagine if there were an injury). I don't like that idea.

You're forgetting that our good ol Coach believes Mr Outlaw can play some 4

 

[Bricklayer]

You can get there with:

IT $0.8mil (all the L.A. announcers seem to love the guy as a starter anyway)
Patterson $3.1mil ending contract (D'Antoni chubby 3pt shooting PF)
Thornton $8.1mil (Kobe insurance)
Salmons $7.6mil basically ending contract (cheap buyout, and the Lakers have NO SFs on the roster currently)
----------------------------
$19.6mil, with only Thornton's deal lasting longer than this year, hence preserving most of their cap room.

I'm not sure there is as much of a market for an old Pau at $20mil as some people think. If his deal wasn't an ender I would think he'd be tough to even move.

Would soften multiple positions for us, but not deplete any of them.

Cousins/Pau/JT/Hayes...late in the season joined by Landry
Mbah a Moute/Outlaw
McLemore/Jimmer
Grevis/McCallum

Could be a formidable frontline. Grevis could not get hurt though, and you'd be one quality SF/SG short. You know what would worry me more than anything? Cousins' head if he plays favorites with IT and Patterson.

 

[VF21]

Thornton is Kobe insurance???? Dude...

Maybe I've become jaded and you're getting mellower, but there's no way I can see Jim Buss or Mitch Kupchuk even answering the phone for that offer.

 

[mac]

Thornton is Kobe insurance???? Dude...

Maybe I've become jaded and you're getting mellower, but there's no way I can see Jim Buss or Mitch Kupchuk even answering the phone for that offer.

Why not? The Lakers currently have Nick Young at backup SG, who's role is to go out there chuck up as many shots as he'd like and put up points while Kobe is out. Sounds like a job for MT if you ask me... and in the event that Kobe can't return to form it gives them some additional depth at SG/SF.

 

[KingsCitizen]

Never trade with the Lakers. They never trade away good assets that are not rotten or too raw.
See Bynum to 76ers.
See Gasol to Memphis, took years before Marc actually worked out.
See Odom, who still thinks he is Lakers.

 

[spudfan]

Never trade with the Lakers. They never trade away good assets that are not rotten or too raw.
See Bynum to 76ers.
See Gasol to Memphis, took years before Marc actually worked out.
See Odom, who still thinks he is Lakers.

That's the old lakers management. The new guys have created a mess, and are a mess.

 

[twslam07]

What about this trade?

Pau Gasol
Jordan Farmar
Wesley Johnson

for

Isaiah Thomas
Jason Thompson
Jimmer Fredette
Chuck Hayes
John Salmons

We would be trading away $21.82 mil away and receiving $24.2 mil back (including Gasol's trade kicker).

Lakers rotation after the trade:

PG - Nash/Thomas/Blake/Fredette
SG - Bryant/Meeks/Henry
SF - Young/Salmons
PF - Thompson/Hayes/Kelly/Williams
C - Kaman/Hill

Kings rotation after the trade:

PG - Vasquez/Farmar/McCallum
SG - Thornton/McLemore
SF - Outlaw/Moute/Johnson
PF - Gasol/Patterson/Landry
C - Cousins

Why Lakers do this trade:
Basically, the Lakers trade Pau away knowing that their attempt at a playoff birth is dismal. They get back young pieces in return in Thomas, Thompson, and Fredette. Salmons will come off the books for them next year and provide some of that cap relief Gasol would have provided. Hayes is just a throw in who only has two years left on his deal. Overall, the Lakers go into next offseason with tons of cap space and some nice young players on cheap, affordable deals (with the exception of Hayes).

Why the Kings do this trade:
I have a few reasons for wanting to do this trade. The first one is that it clears up the log jam at our guard positions. The second reason is that Cousins has said that he really respects Gasol's game. Gasol could be a great mentor for Cousins and help him further develop with post moves and passing/seeing the floor. The third reason is that it gives us a lot of cap space next year. I really don't like the way this team is constructed right now. I would rather us get rid of some of these contracts and begin to manage our salary better. However, if they keep signing people like Landry to ridiculous deals than this trade is a nightmare for us. I'm optimistic that next year we might become a more appealing destination for some of these free agents and having more cap space should only help.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Sorry I just don't see it. LA needs an infusion but I just don't see where we have the pieces they would trade Pau for. (other than DMC)

 

[Kings Faithful]

Would be down for a JT + IT/Thornton + Salmons/Hayes trade.

 

[Padrino]

while i'm certainly intrigued by the notion of a cousins/gasol frontline (though in no way convinced that it could work), the contracts make this a tremendously difficult deal to consummate without the help of a third team. the kings would have to send out far too much in order to bring back a guy who would probably bolt in the offseason, anyway...

i've been a staunch critic of the kings' perceived "depth," but given how shallow this team is on assets of any value outside of demarcus cousins, i'm hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal that brings back an asset the team may not be able to retain beyond this season...

the only way it works is if vivek can truly sell pau on staying in sacramento. pau's a sensitive type, after all, and in this town he wouldn't face even a fraction of the scrutiny and derision he's received in los angeles. but at his age, he's gotta be thinking about playing for a winner, rather than playing for the hope of a winner. unless a third team can get involved to help soften the blow of absorbing a contract as formidable as pau's, i'd pass on such a deal...

 

[VF21]

while i'm certainly intrigued by the notion of a cousins/gasol frontline (though in no way convinced that it could work), the contracts make this a tremendously difficult deal to consummate without the help of a third team. the kings would have to send out far too much in order to bring back a guy who would probably bolt in the offseason, anyway...

Bingo!

 

[The_Jamal]

I think we could get more value than Pau for a year anyways for everyone that would it would take to get him. Heck, you could probably get a 1st round pick a piece from someone for JT, IT, and Thornton individually. Not all next year, but I would guess there would be a plethora of suitors willing to part with a contract+1st for those guys.

Im a big fan of trying to trade for 1st round picks. It's especially important as the Maloof era mess clears up over the next 2 seasons, to be financially able to go out and make deals happen through FA or trade. Rookie contracts give us the flexibility to do so.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I think we could get more value than Pau for a year anyways for everyone that would it would take to get him. Heck, you could probably get a 1st round pick a piece from someone for JT, IT, and Thornton individually. Not all next year, but I would guess there would be a plethora of suitors willing to part with a contract+1st for those guys.

Im a big fan of trying to trade for 1st round picks. It's especially important as the Maloof era mess clears up over the next 2 seasons, to be financially able to go out and make deals happen through FA or trade. Rookie contracts give us the flexibility to do so.

Unfortunately, there's nobody close to having the potential skillset of Pau Gasol in the upcoming draft classes, that I'm aware of. He's literally a once every couple of decade type of talent with his size to go along with it. Maybe even more rare than this. Other than Dirk Nowitski and Tim Duncan, nobody else in any recent memory comes close

 

[The_Jamal]

Unfortunately, there's nobody close to having the potential skillset of Pau Gasol in the upcoming draft classes, that I'm aware of. He's literally a once every couple of decade type of talent with his size to go along with it. Maybe even more rare than this. Other than Dirk Nowitski and Tim Duncan, nobody else in any recent memory comes close

I love Pau too. Unfortuantely, we're about 5 years too late on getting him. And he's going to be looking for a winner after this contract, not a team that's still AT LEAST 2 years away from competing.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I love Pau too. Unfortuantely, we're about 5 years too late on getting him. And he's going to be looking for a winner after this contract, not a team that's still AT LEAST 2 years away from competing.

I don't know about that. I think a front line of Cousins and Gasol, with a quality point gaurd and a decent talent at the 2 or 3 position, could compete right away next season

 

[King Baller]

The Lakers missed the two year window with Kobe, Pau and Nash due to injuries. Pau is one of the best but I see him signing on in a place like SA to make another run at a ring.

KB

 

[HndsmCelt]

The Lakers missed the two year window with Kobe, Pau and Nash due to injuries. Pau is one of the best but I see him signing on in a place like SA to make another run at a ring.

KB

Sort of. But when you han your hopes on the health of two guards well into their 30's you can't be surprised that the wheels fell off.