What Worst Trade Ever?

So people still think the Pau Gasol trade is the worst heist in the history of the NBA? Still scratching your head about why the Grizzlies swapped the elder Gasol for Kwame Brown, Aaron Mckie, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittenton and what basically became the draft rights to Darrell Arthur?

Please stop.

First off, Kwame and Mckie were pure salary dumps that helped put the Grizzlies in the position to get…well, they went out and got Zach Randolph. While I question that choice, in some respects I understand it, especially considering the Grizzlies drafting of Hasheem Thabeet.

You can denigrate the Thabeet selection all you want. But that was a Heisley move. So Chris Wallace, like he’s done for quite some time now, tried to make the best of it.

Yeah, Pau Gasol is a stud. He was a key component in getting the Lakers their 15^th championship last season. The Lakers are a ridiculous 120-35 with the elder Gasol in the lineup. But this year has been a coming out party for the younger Gasol who is turning into a monster himself.

If you look at the trade now, you can see that despite Heisley’s best efforts it has turned out rather nicely thus far. Marc Gasol is a 25-year-old banger averaging 16 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 64.3 percent shooting. He’s one of only two centers (the other being Marcus Camby) in the League that is averaging at least 1.5 blocks and over a steal per game.

And he hits free throws at a 76 percent clip.

Remember, this guy was the reigning MVP of the ACB League, the second best league in the world, before coming over to the States last season.

Of those players who have played at least ten games, Marc has the highest true shooting percentage (68.8) in the NBA after Chris Paul. He’s got more double-doubles than David Lee, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. And in his last game against the Clips Sunday, Gasol dropped this statline: 26 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals on 13-18 shots.

Gasol’s PER of 22.57 ranks him 21^st in the entire league and sixth amongst centers behind his brother Pau (who has only played five games), Duncan, Dwight Howard, Nazr Mohammed, and Greg Oden. Outside of the anomaly of Mohammed (we’ve seen his stud for two weeks routine before) that’s some pretty lofty company. And while Mohammed only plays 14 minutes a night, Gasol is tied for second amongst centers with Brook Lopez in minutes per game at 35.9 (the injury-prone Chris Kaman leads all centers at 36.9, just another reason why Dunleavy should be fired).

So, a Gasol for Gasol swap all by its lonesome would have been looking pretty decent now. But add to Marc the services of 28-year-old Randolph, who, despite the horrific rep, is averaging 19 points and 9 boards and 2 assists and shooting over 50 percent for the first time since his sophomore season, and we begin to see the real value of the trade.

While history tells us that Randolph’s good behavior probably won’t last, it has to be noted that he’s having the second best season of his career and the team is actually winning too.

With the Gasol/Randolph duo, Rudy Gay’s matured game and the surprising run of Jamal Tinsley (who knew?), the Grizz find themselves with a 4-1 record over their past five, which really should be a 5-game winning streak after blowing a 22-point lead against the Clips.

And this is without seeing what Arthur, who had a pretty decent rookie season but is out with a torn pectoral muscle, can bring to the table as well as who the Grizzlies will draft with the pick they had returned to them when they traded away Crittenton to the Wizards.

In five years, we could be saying that the Grizzlies got the better end of the deal, even if the Lakers win three more championships, seeing as how Pau couldn’t carry a team all by his lonesome (no one can).

So please, please, please. Let’s stop with this most lopsided trade of all time talk. That’s so, 2008…

Westside Connection Pt. 2

-Clippers got their first win and guess who played 30 minutes? Eric Gordon. He got some time and, oh my god, he shot 50 percent and hit 3-4 from beyond the arc. Sure, he wasn’t the only reason the team got the monkey off their back, Baron did have 22 and 10 and Camby added 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. But, this is the team that we should see more and more. The one that will have the most success. Ricky Buckets still can’t seem to find his shot. And, Cat? Cuttino Mobley still got 33 minutes, but put up only 8 shots. I really don’t hate Mobley. He got some time at SF because Thornton, who had a good game, was limited by foul trouble. The team held the Mavs (minus Josh Howard) to 92 points. The defense is starting to jell, and the Clips are learning how to play with each other. The Kings, Warriors, Spurs and Thunder are the upcoming games...all very winnable. The Spurs were struggling with Tony Parker playing as the best player in the league. They’ll be without him for a month, so the Clips should have more than enough to get by San Antonio. In fact, the brutal part of their early schedule is out of the way. After the Thunder, the Clips travel to play a worse-than-expected Philly team, and Mike Dunleavy should be plenty fired up to win that game. Then they’ve got New Jersey, New Orleans, Denver and Miami. They could realistically go 7-2 which would put them back at .500. It’s going to be an uphill battle for them the rest of the way, but Baron helped lead a less talented team to the brink of the playoffs last year. Still think this team could win 45-48 games.


-The Grizzlies had a disappointing second half against Denver, a great deal of it because O.J. Mayo went stone cold after being scalding hot dropping 20 points in the first quarter where he shot 8-9 with 3-3 from beyond the arc. He still ended with 31, but only had 5 in the second half. The team just won’t be able to win if Rudy Gay shoots 4-17. Just won’t happen. One problem the team has is that Gay and Mayo fall in love with their jumper too much. Both players need to get to the basket more or work the ball inside to Marc Gasol. Gasol can’t play 40 minutes and only shoot the ball 4 times. And the jumpshot-itis is not just confined to the team’s two stars. Everyone on the roster jacks up way too many jumpshots—you just can’t win consistently like that. Even still, they held a high scoring Denver team under their season average as they’ve done with every team they’ve played this year. Defense is keeping them in it. They’re sitting at 3-4 on the season, but, tell me one person who thought they would have as many wins as the Spurs and Mavericks combined? Love Darrell Arthur’s game. A bit like a bruiser version of Trevor Ariza. They just make things happen. Ditto with Kyle Lowry. The point guards just need to learn to shoot the three. If and when that happens, this team will get a whole lot better. Q Ross was a good pickup for this team. He and Greg Buckner come off the bench and offer great defense.

-Denver looks a lot more balanced now with Chauncey, even though dude has yet to find his shot. 2-13 is putrid for any player. But the 16, 6, 10 and 3 steals is very nice. Part of the reason he couldn’t find the hoop was due to the pressure he was seeing from Mayo and Lowry and whoever, but if Chauncey could’ve hit four more shots, this game wouldn’t have been as close as it was. J.R. Smith hasn’t taken to Billups as fast as I thought he would. But Renaldo Balkman and Nene are loving him. Melo too, though he missed some absolute gimmes including a wide-open two-handed jam. Denver’s defense looks a lot better though. A lot better. They’ve got someone who can actually play defense at the one. Once Chauncey gets more comfortable with his shot and K-Mart comes back, this team will start to climb back into the race in the Northwest, though the rest of their schedule this month is tough. They’ve got the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers, Hornets and Houston, and, though people might laugh at me, I’m going to put the Clippers into the equation as well. Don't let their 1-6 record fool you. The Clips are a good team. Denver's got an uphill battle going forward, but they've added defense to a still potent offense. They are not as flashy, but they are definitely a better team. If Antonio McDyess wasn't such a baby, he could really help this squad out.