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Gasol traded to the Lakers

Blogabull_s_tiny by your friendly BullsBlogger on

Salary dump (hattip to RealGM):

The Commercial Appeal has learned that the Grizzlies have traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton and first-round draft picks in 2008 and 2010.The decision was made that the Grizzlies could no longer move forward with Gasol on and off the basketball court.

The deal allows the Grizzlies to gain salary cap relief, as Brown is in the final year of a deal that pays $9,075,000.

Also today, a Grizzlies source said that forward Stromile Swift has been traded to the New Jersey Nets for center Jason Collins.

Wow, how far had the trade value fallen from a year ago, when Jerry West was (reportedly) asking for Deng, Gordon, and Sefolosha? (or some combination of that with picks, or something)

This either went two ways: Memphis may have liked Nocioni but not his contract. Or they didn't mind the contract and Pax (as it has been reported multiple times) for some reason ruled him off limits.

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Gasol to Lakers
John Paxson has some explaining to do.  If he couldn't get a deal done because he didn't want to lose Nocioni, than he should be fired, because he has no perspective on what this team needs and no eye for talent.   Its time for Paxson to make a move.

by danger mouse on Feb 1, 2008 2:18 PM CST   0 recs

I too want answers
from the tight-lipped GM who stands pat while his ship sinks deeper.

Why didn't he pull the trigger, at least give us a reason! It's getting harder and harder to stay a Bulls fan these days. Reminiscing about the Glory-Michael Jordan Days are wearing thin.

by RogersPark Kris on Feb 1, 2008 2:22 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I doubt we'll ever know
if it's because the Griz didn't want Nocioni (and I thought his contract was so reasonable!) then what can you do? I guess it is sort of damning that Pax never has these juicy expiring deals for anything except to expire.

But if it's because they wouldn't deal Noc, then it's pretty sickening.

I don't think it'd be because they wouldn't give up Tyrus or Noah, as if the Griz were settling for Critterton as the 'prospect' in the deal they weren't setting the bar too high.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 2:38 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Disagree
"if it's because the Griz didn't want Nocioni (and I thought his contract was so reasonable!) then what can you do? I guess it is sort of damning that Pax never has these juicy expiring deals for anything except to expire."

There's a lot you can do.

As Pax has been fond of saying, there's always talk going on even if it doesn't amount to much.  So it's very likely he had some sense of where Memphis would want to go if it traded Gasol.  Not saying Pax should have made a trade in anticipation of what they want, but if you know maybe you can have a contingency lined up.  Such as

... it seem likely to me the Bulls could have turned Noc or Smith into expiring contracts (think we couldn't have sent him on down to Miami) if they really wanted to, and then sent them on to Memphis.  Beyond that, there are other alternatives, like taking on Cardinal, who, while expensive, still probably wouldn't kill us tax-wise.

So I tend to think it's a cop-out to say "what could he do".  There were might have been a lot of things that could have been done with sufficient  creativity.

Or, stepping back in time, hey, maybe signing Noc to a 6 year $38M deal wasn't all that smart.  It's easy to say "there's nothing we can do now because of the circumstances", but ultimately they're responsible for the circumstances.

by Sports2 on Feb 1, 2008 3:00 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Effigy of Paxson
Anyone know how to get an effigy made?

I echo all of the expressions of frustration of all on this blog.

PAX:  do the honorable thing and deliver a letter of resignation to the good chairman's office.

"Duhon, don't make that garbage-time jumper... Save it for the next game!"

by bullhockey on Feb 1, 2008 4:36 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

An effigy is simply a likeness.
I'd caution that you consider where you're going with this because the standard expression containing the word "effigy" is not one that would comfortably find a home on this site.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 4:47 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

BZZZ! Wrong.
There's nothing wrong with burning someone in effigy. It just means you've made a likeness of the person and have set fire to it.

"The effigy is burned as a sign of the participants' shared intent to banish the represented element from their lives."

Yes, this applies in this case.

"Duhon, don't make that garbage-time jumper... Save it for the next game!"

by bullhockey on Feb 1, 2008 5:03 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

from Webster's Unabridged:
"To burn or hang in effigy, is to burn or hang an image or picture of the person intended to be executed, disgraced or degraded. In France,when a criminal cannot be apprehended, his picture is hung on a gallows or gibbet, at the bottom of which is written his sentence of condemnation."

Yes, to "burn in effigy" is one standard use of the word.

I guess I should have said, "one of the standard."

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 5:13 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

im guessing
nocioni, noah or tyrus, and salary filler wouldve been enough to get gasol.  id have to think its pax that killed this deal; wouldnt noah or tyrus be a better long term prospect for memphis than javaris crittendon?  they now essentially have 3 young pg's (crittendon, conley, and lowry) and a gaping hole in the front court, unless memphis has some irrational belief that warrick and darko is their frontcourt of the future.  it seems every day something happens with this bulls team that makes me sicker and sicker.

by Mike C on Feb 1, 2008 2:18 PM CST   0 recs

Kill Paxson now
He coulda offered a better deal than that!

Fuck him!

by Option27 on Feb 1, 2008 2:18 PM CST   0 recs

That's pretty
harsh.
Yes, the game is on in Iowa.

by sue369 on Feb 1, 2008 2:23 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Wow
Harsh for knowing next to nothing about what really went down.

by cranscape on Feb 1, 2008 4:41 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

AH!
I saw that we posted at the same time. Yours is prettier anyway. I don't understand how the Bulls couldn't have pull this deal off.
2008 - The Year of The Comeback

by Goostafer on Feb 1, 2008 2:18 PM CST   0 recs

Memphis really wanted Brown's
9 million off the books.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Feb 1, 2008 2:21 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I get that
9 mil off the books and 2 first rounders are great, but with all the youth the Bulls have, PJ Brown who allegedly was willing to help them out if a trade was to happen, in my opinion, could have made a way better deal than just Kwame, Javaris, and 2picks. I'm really upset right now. I don't understand Pax's thinking and i don't think I ever will.
2008 - The Year of The Comeback

by Goostafer on Feb 1, 2008 2:31 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Not only that, but
The 2 first round picks the Lakers would have in whatever, 2008 and 2010 are going to be in the high 20's if not the lowest picks in those two first rounds.

The Bulls, on the other hand, could end up landing a lottery pick with their sophomoric hijinks on the court and their injuries off of it.

All of this makes me think that Pax doubled down on his guys for the season, essentially saying, "If we don't make the playoffs I'll take a high draft pick rather than Pau Gasol."

"Duhon, don't make that garbage-time jumper... Save it for the next game!"

by bullhockey on Feb 1, 2008 4:40 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

agree
I'm sure we had someone of the roster expendable for this deal who has upside almost equal to Javaris Crittenton?  If he was the key?
Thabo?
Tyrus?
Noc? to expensive maybe?

by exult463 on Feb 1, 2008 8:36 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

yeah, apologies to you and option27
for hiding your diaries. I was already in the middle of writing this one.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 2:22 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

same here
this is the low point of the season.  the absolute nadir.  a dispiriting lose to the worst team in the league, in which the head coach admits the team quit.  followed by losing out on a player who could have helped turn it around, and who was very, very available.  

rock bottom.  kerplunk.

by Freethefro on Feb 1, 2008 2:23 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

this is insane
he went to the Lakers for practically nothing...and Paxson couldn't pull off something similar?!?  WTF

by ScottieCartwright on Feb 1, 2008 2:20 PM CST   0 recs

ugh
Kupchak was only in a position to make the trade because he traded Butler for Brown in the first place.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Feb 1, 2008 2:23 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

In six months he's gone
from being on the verge of gettin run out of town to probable exec of the year.  You've got to admit it's a nice save.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 2:28 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Don't forget about Ainge?
If Kupchak was on the hot seat, Ainge's ass was molten lava before he got Allen and McHale gave him Garnett.

by snley on Feb 1, 2008 2:30 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Lakers Celtics
in the finals.  

Winner gets Exec of the Year.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 2:37 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Whoa, I wouldn't exactly
annoint the Lakers champions of the west just yet.

I sincerely doubt they make it to the Finals.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 1, 2008 2:41 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

he's made some shitty moves, but deserves credit
not only for this, but for NOT caving into Thorn and dealing Bymum in a Kidd deal last season.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 2:40 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Quit crying about Pax, he is a good GM
You're such a whiny bitch, Pax has made some good draft picks. Bynum could have easily been a bust and you would have complained the whole summer of 05 if pax took him.

by armstrong2389 on Feb 1, 2008 3:14 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

who cares who complains?
it's results. Kupchak looks good for picking Bynum, I was defending his honor. Never said Paxson wasn't good.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 3:16 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

hmmm
here you say that Paxson has made some good draft picks...but up above you bag on Hinrich (I believe you called him "Hinbrick" and a "stiffy")...so which of your opinions do you believe?

by ScottieCartwright on Feb 1, 2008 3:18 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

As bad as that trade has turned out to be
It was a reasonable gamble at the time.  Plus, I can't think of any other terrible moves made by Kupchak in his time as GM.  The package he got for Shaq was pretty good compared to many of the spare parts that are included in deals to acquire superstars.  He's drafted fairly well.  Ainge will win Exec of the Year, but I think Kupchak has done the far superior job.  

by snley on Feb 1, 2008 2:48 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

So true.
Bad move into good move.

Wallace raises his hand!

Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Feb 1, 2008 4:15 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

i can't wait to here
the lame explanations for this.  we didn't have the salaries.  we didn't want to give up too much.  we "just couldn't make it work."

kerplunk.

by Freethefro on Feb 1, 2008 2:24 PM CST   0 recs

Paxson
How is Paxson going to spin this...

by Jesse07 on Feb 1, 2008 2:25 PM CST   0 recs

Couldn't PJ Brown have been used?
Isn't that why he's supposedly not playing yet this season, is he's waiting for the Bulls to use their sign and trade rights to give him one last, big contract.  

by snley on Feb 1, 2008 2:25 PM CST   0 recs

I guess I understand some of the
consternation evinced by certain posters, by I am not all that dismayed, to tell you the truth .

I don't think Pau Gasol was the answer to all our woes.

He'll be a nice third option in LA.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 1, 2008 2:25 PM CST   0 recs

19 pts 9 rebounds, 50%
from the floor.  after a poor start.  that third option would be our first.  

by Freethefro on Feb 1, 2008 2:27 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

"that third option would be our first"
That's precisely my point.

I don't think he could have carried the Bulls to the promised land. He is a great compliment to the existing LA squad, but I have no reason to believe he would have single-handedly elevated the Bulls to title contender.

He played poorly this season. After all, salary cap relief aside, there was a reason that the Memphis management was willing to part with him for so little.

JMO.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 1, 2008 2:30 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

By the way, I also think it is premature to
condemn Paxosn. We don't know what demands the Griz actually made. We don't know what offers Paxson entertained.

I'll reserve judgment until verifiable details emerge.

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 1, 2008 2:33 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

That's not the point
Nobody is good enough to turn this Bulls team into a title contender (except guys like Kobe and Lebron, who aren't being traded).  If that's your standard, than of course Gasol is going to fall short.  I bet he'd make them a better team though.  It would be nice to see what the "core" could do with an actual low-post scorer.

by Big D on Feb 1, 2008 2:52 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I'm starting to agree
for the longest time I thought there was one move, and if Pau wasn't it then fine.

However, this team looks several moves away, and getting Pau would be fine as the first one. Especially if it was for cheap.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 3:00 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

You need to watch the bulls not type when theyplay
You are just a complete dope Matt. There is a reason Gasol has never won a playoff game he is soft. I don't think Pax wants a soft post player who makes as much money as him. Do you watch the bulls body, because it seems like you don't know a dam thing about this team. You just complain and you were one of those people who gave up on chandler and danced when we signed wallace. You are a complete stupid fan, maybe you should watch the bulls games without your computer on your lap all the time. You are just a complete baby you should watch the bulls more when they play instead of bitching on your computer the entire time.

by armstrong2389 on Feb 1, 2008 3:20 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I see your point
You clearly haven't put in the time to master typing yet.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2008 3:28 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Dude
I don't know if you are being sarcastic or not but Matt is the host here. I don't always agree with him but calling him names when he lets you post comments in here is uncalled for.
Yes, the game is on in Iowa.

by sue369 on Feb 1, 2008 3:29 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Get
off his balls already.

by chris44 on Feb 1, 2008 3:35 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Shit
you swear your something special. Little nut having mug.

by chris44 on Feb 1, 2008 3:40 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Chris...
You're very, very... yawn.

by withmalice on Feb 1, 2008 7:20 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I don't think Pau is the answer either
Plus, he only seems to play well in a half court game and the Bulls are better when they push the ball.

It's interesting the Lakers gave up two first round draft picks for him, and that may have been the deal breaker.  He's not worth that.  

I do love how this wasn't one of the many rumored trade deals, which just goes to show that those rumor trade deals are mostly rumors.

by KT on Feb 1, 2008 2:29 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

He wouldn't be worth
two Bulls first rounders, but the Lakers will be at the bottom of the draft for the next few years, so I don't know why those picks would be so attractive to Memphis.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 2:32 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

late round picks
is where a lot of teams pick foreign players they don't expect to see in the US for a couple of years.  

Plus, they're highly tradable themselves.

by KT on Feb 1, 2008 2:38 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Even bullshooter
couldn't convincingly argue that point.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 2:44 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I think that's a compliment
at least I hope so.
Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Feb 1, 2008 3:02 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

They kind of have to.
For the past ten years (if not more) it's the only way to get someone who can be above the normal talent drafted there.
Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Feb 1, 2008 4:19 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Apologist
Stuff KT...

by withmalice on Feb 1, 2008 7:20 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I agree.
This is good news to me.
Let us prepare for glory! --Michael Redd

by tyger1147 on Feb 1, 2008 4:16 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

I agree....
...I don't think Gasol was the magic solution here. Hopefully Pax can pull off something bigger.

by bullsfaninbigapple on Feb 1, 2008 8:28 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Maybe Pax has been reading BaB
and believes everything you've written about TT and Noah and Deng and BG and is going to resign them.
Nocioni-Khryapa in '08

by bullshooter on Feb 1, 2008 2:26 PM CST   0 recs

i doubt pax killed the deal
at the end of the day, it is up to memphis.  i know i am about to get slammed, go easy on me

by Conor on Feb 1, 2008 2:27 PM CST   0 recs

The thing is
no one in here knows what Pax did or didn't do. He may have another deal in the works. Just because it isn't in the rumor mill doesn't mean there isn't a deal going on.
Yes, the game is on in Iowa.

by sue369 on Feb 1, 2008 2:36 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

If our mini-mutiny is any indication
...it better be a good one.

by alec on Feb 1, 2008 2:39 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

There may not
be a deal brewing at all. Pax may wait until this summer to do something.
Yes, the game is on in Iowa.

by sue369 on Feb 1, 2008 2:47 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

That's what people said last year at this time
I think it's time to stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.

by Big D on Feb 1, 2008 2:56 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Agreed
Yeah.  I think we've given Pax the benefit of the doubt a number of times, but after it seems team after team is getting guys for bargain basement prices while we're holding on to young guys that we refuse to even play...if nothing else it's time for him to give us some answers.  Like, what was Memphis asking for from us.

by balta1701 on Feb 1, 2008 4:31 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

Another deal
I hope he has another deal working, and he actually pulls the trigger.  I do appreciate the fact that this happened early than late, so Paxson didn't wait and this C.Wallace was going to cave last second.  

by Jesse07 on Feb 1, 2008 2:41 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

judging by paxsons
illustrious track record of midseason deals, im guessing nothing is in the works.

by Mike C on Feb 1, 2008 2:42 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

He should say something
But the more he stays quiet, the more afraid he looks to either A. Upset his players, or B. that the deal that was there and would be scrutinized/scond guessed by the media/general public for not pulling the trigger.

Well guess what Pax? For all your playing it safe, you look like a GM who drafts OK, but is WAY OVER HIS HEAD when it comes to pulling trades.

by RogersPark Kris on Feb 1, 2008 2:42 PM CST to parent up   0 recs

True, but
the coveted "low post presence" is such an anomaly in the NBA these days that the ones that are out there are either perennial All-Stars (KG, Duncan), former All-Stars (Gasol) or soon-to-be All-Stars (Al Jefferson, Andrew Bynum) (I guess a fourth category exists for underachievers with All-Star talent--Eddy Curry).

So to see the Griz get maybe 45 cents on the dollar for one of these bona fide low post presences, it is only natural to ask what the hell Paxson was doing when this went down.

Couldn't the Bulls have paid 45 cents on the dollar or more? If there were no deals presented to Pax, why didn't he push harder for one? Why wasn't he more creative? Why couldn't he use PJ Brown?

Surely the Bulls' higher 2008 draft pick would have been worth more than the Lakers' 2008 draft pick. Surely Pax could have found a way to part with any one of a number of underachieving parts.

As you point out, we don't know, but these are all legitimate questions, and I believe that Bulls fans need an explanation.

The only way I could forgive Pax is if the Griz offered what amounts to a sweetheart deal to the Lakers, the way the Wolves set up the Celtics. In other words, maybe the Griz really wanted too much from Pax, let's say closer to 65 of 75 cents on the dollar, and broke off negotiations, only to take the next best deal, which happened to be for 45 cents on the dollar. I guess I'm agreeing with you when I say, who really knows...

"Duhon, don't make that garbage-time jumper... Save it for the next game!"

by bullhockey on Feb 1, 2008 4:54 PM CST to parent up   0 recs