This appears in nba.com
Free Pau
Gasol
by rick olivares
When Pau Gasol entered the 2001 NBA
Draft, the scouting report on the Spaniard said:
Strengths: Good face up shooter who can shoot from the
perimeter as far as the three-point line... Runs the floor well and thrives in
an open court situation where he can finish with a resounding dunk… Use height
advantage to shoot over smaller defenders... If his defender plays him close,
he can beat him off the dribble or pass the ball to an open teammate… Creates
mismatches due to his ability to play multiple positions all three frontcourt
positions… Smart player and adjusts to how the defense plays him ... Has a nice
pull up jumper off the dribble... Plays like Croatia’s Toni Kukoc.
Weakness: Doesn’t play well
with his back to the basket despite playing center in Europe… Needs to improve
upper body strength… Can beat his man with the dribble but defensively cannot
stop those who would do the same to him… Needs to improve on shot selection…
Drafting him can also be a risk as he might have to sit out one more year to fulfill
contract obligations with Barcelona.
Gasol was drafted by the Atlanta
Hawks with the third overall pick but was traded right away to the Memphis
Grizzlies for Shareef Abdur-Rahim. With the Grizzlies, Gasol holds the Memphis Grizzlies’
franchise records for career games played, minutes played, field goals made and
attempted, free throws made and attempted, offensive, defensive, and total
rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and points. He achieved all of that in
seven seasons.
And
prior to this 2012-13 NBA season, these are Gasol’s accomplishments (the list
excludes his accomplishments in Europe) in the association:
•
2× NBA champion
(2009–2010)
•
4× NBA All-Star
(2006,
2009–2011)
•
NBA Rookie of the
Year (2002)
•
All-NBA Second Team
(2011)
•
2× All-NBA Third Team
(2009–2010)
•
NBA All-Rookie First Team
(2002)
•
J. Walter Kennedy
Citizenship Award (2012)
While
also playing for Spain in that time (2001 onwards), Gasol has received the
following awards:
•
FIBA World
Championship MVP (2006)
•
EuroBasket
MVP (2009)
•
7× European Player of
the Year
•
2× FIBA Europe Player
of the Year (2008–2009)
•
2× Mr. Europa Player of the Year
(2004, 2009)
•
3× Euroscar Player of the Year
(2008–2010)
In
five years thus far with the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol has averaged: 18.4
points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. He has averaged 64
games for LA (but that is a misnomer because he arrived in Lakerland via
mid-season trade in 2007-08 and suited up in 27 games. In his four full seasons
in Hollywood, Pau has averaged 73 games for the Jerry Buss franchise.
However,
for two years running, he has been the subject of nasty rumors of trade bait.
In fact, he was traded by LA last season to New Orleans for Chris Paul except
that NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade.
The
consummate professional, Gasol has vowed that whatever rumors there are
including those of personal in nature, he’d still play to the best of his
abilities.
I
understand the nature of professional sports where it can be very unkind no
matter what kind of service was rendered. Sentiment is oft left for
sportswriters to pen. However, all this talk about Gasol’s negatives hurts his
value and is grossly unkind to him. It’s a label that European players have had
to deal with since Bulgarian Georgi Glouchkov suited up for the Phoenix Suns in
the 1985-86 season. How about Steve Nash? It isn’t like his defense is great.
And
now the wolves are at the door screaming for trades (thankfully, not bloody
murder) as Gasol struggles under new Laker coach Mike D’Antoni’s system.
Los
Angeles has had difficulties getting Gasol involved in D'Antoni's uptempo offense,
which historically has not needed post-up players. But even that sounds weird
because Pau is not a post-up player. He was only converted into one because
American basketball has not yet grasped the world’s version that has eschewed
post-up players. World basketball likes big men who can run the floor and shoot
threes.
The
same thing happened with Kukoc when he arrived in the NBA. While playing for
Jugoplastika and Benetton Treviso, the man they called ‘The Waiter’ because of
the way he serves up assists for teammates, played point guard or point
forward. Kukoc won the Sixth Man Award for the Chicago Bulls in 1996 while
manning the three-spot. At times, the Bulls wanted him to play the four when he
was and never will be a four.
Now
Gasol, ranked only 27th in the league in post-up
points with 2.7 per game, is experiencing the same thing. His points from the
shaded lane are down from prior seasons when he was fifth in 2010–11 and ninth
in 2011–12 as he has been bothered by tendinitis
in both knees while struggling in D’Antoni’s system.
I
applaud the Lakers’ efforts to revert to a more uptempo style. The problem is
they do not have the thoroughbreds to finish it. The Lakers are getting in on
the years. We’re seeing a broken down Steve Nash with Antawn Jamison and Metta
World Peace having put in a lot of mileage as well in their pro careers. And
there’s Kobe Bryant who is in his 17th year in the NBA! It seems
like only yesterday that he was this rookie out of Lower Merion High in
Philadelphia.
Maybe
now, Pau should welcome a trade. It is always good to go where one is welcome.
To a team where his talents can be appreciated and he can be a stabilizing
force.
The
Minnesota Timberwolves with the returning Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love beckon.
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