the lakers have just pooped their big-boy pants: 2012-2013 NBA regular season thread (part 2)

+healthy gasol xp - asking a lot obvs

that stat always kinda cracks me up, it has the same first five letters as my last name xp

i still think they're gonna trade pau if he can prove he's healthy. he's just the odd man out on offense, they have bigger needs and they already traded him once.

I just threw tonight's minutes into SCHOECH and got a .gif of adam schefter's floating head

otm

ah, hello there world peace

METTA

Why would you tangle up w Metta!?

i still think they're gonna trade pau if he can prove he's healthy. he's just the odd man out on offense, they have bigger needs and they already traded him once.

― J0rdan S., Saturday, December 8, 2012 12:05 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this is i think the way to go, obvs as you said hes got to prove hes not broken

Yeah that's def their best chance

try to get a couple few rotation player for him imho

Yep. They need depth (and energy)

yeah they need to get a serviceable big back and a few guys to beef up their rotation

I hear Beidrins is awesome. Go after him imo.

make dwight feel better abt his ft shooting

excited to see who takes on grumpy oldman pau

i'm gonna try and work the trade machine here

pau for david lee & jarret jack, who says no

make dwight feel better abt his ft shooting

― lag∞n, Friday, December 7, 2012 10:14 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

omg yes, great point, reason enough

hmm xp

I don't see how Pau goes to the Wolves without a third team involved. Dwight and Pekovic is a beautiful dream but not something D'Antoni would be into imo

i wouldn't trade pek for pau

trade machine is hard right now cuz all the FAs have restrictions on them until 12/15

the realgm one lets you ignore that

pau for brandon bass, courtney lee & jeff green, who says no

wolves get HOSED in that trade

er sorry the lakers do

they do but i'm not sure they're gonna be able to trade pau for equal value

i don't think it's that terrible actually... bass would fit perfectly with dwight, i still think lee is a fine player & jeff green... well, whatever

pau for david lee & jack is interesting imo... i don't think jack alone solves their issues but it would help a lot. hard to make the salaries work w/ golden state tho

jeff green hit three 3s tonight lakers u should totally trade for him he is v good at basketball

i think the announcer for the first espn game tonight said that jeff green had a "career high" 19 points, can that be right?

he did say that but it was just a season high really

i think houston is an intriguing option. lin & harden don't really work together and houston could use a big that's consistent on offense. lin would be a good fit for the lakers' second unit even tho he can't shoot and is good insurance against nash getting hurt... they would maybe need to get a third team involved tho.

jeff green once scored 37 points

as i mentioned, jeff green is amazing at basketball

here are haberstroh's pau proposals

Trade 1: Lakers get: Danilo Gallinari (4 years, $42M), Andre Miller (3, $14.6M) | Nuggets get: Gasol, Jordan Hill (2, $7.1M), Darius Morris ($1M)

Of all the trades, this might make the most sense and here's why: Take my underperforming big man. Who knows what happened to Gallinari's jump shot? Sounds like a job for D'Antoni, his former coach who once called Gallo the greatest shooter he's ever seen. Of course, that "greatest shooter I've ever seen" is shooting a crisp 29 percent from downtown this season, the lowest mark among the 24 sharpshooters with at least 85 3-point attempts.

Gallinari has thrived in D'Antoni's system before, and it's hard to imagine a better reclamation project for D'Antoni than his fellow Italian marksman. But in order to make the money work, the Nuggets would have to throw in another player with a medium-sized contract. Miller fits the bill and fills a need for the Lakers at backup point guard. From a health standpoint, it doesn't get any more dependable than Miller, who's missed exactly one game over the past six seasons.

The Nuggets have frontcourt depth, but Gasol gives them a true star if healthy. Including Miller (who's only eligible to be traded after Dec. 15) in the deal would be a steep price to pay for Gasol alone and that's where Hill comes in. The 25-year-old is the only remotely intriguing young asset on the Lakers' roster and would likely have to be included to make it worthwhile for the Nuggets. The Lakers would love to get their hands on a "3-and-D" player like Corey Brewer, but Miller might fill a greater need.

Fit level: Strong

Trade 2: Lakers get: Andrea Bargnani (3 years, $32.5M) and Jose Calderon ($10.6M expiring) | Raptors get: Gasol

The Lakers would receive both insurance on Steve Nash and Steve Blake in addition to a floor-spacing big needing a change of scenery. Make no mistake about it: Bargnani is a traffic cone in pick-and-roll defense. But you can excuse that when Bargnani's perimeter-oriented game is practically tailor-made for D'Antoni's system.

David Dow/NBAE/Getty Images
Andrea Bargnani is tailor-made for Mike D'Antoni's system.
For the Raptors? They currently stand five games out of a playoff spot, which is well within striking distance at this stage of the season. A Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Gasol trio would be more than enough talent to crash the playoff picture assuming Gasol returns soon at full health and Derrick Rose does not. Worst-case scenario? The Raptors have Gasol tutor Jonas Valanciunas and then flip Gasol to a contender in the offseason for more youthful assets.

Fit level: Moderate

Trade 3: Lakers get: Ersan Ilyasova (5, $32M) and Monta Ellis (2, $22M) | Bucks get: Pau Gasol and 2013 second-round pick (from Memphis)

The Lakers have arguably the worst bench of any title-chaser in the league, but Ellis would be perfectly suited for a Leandro Barbosa circa 2004-05 role off the bench in D'Antoni's offense. Though Ellis carries a scoring average suited for a starting gig, his subpar shooting efficiency makes him a strong candidate to be a second-unit supersub a la Jamal Crawford.

Look around the league and you'll discover it's slim pickings at stretch 4. But Ilyasova (trade eligible after Dec. 15) finds himself on the short list, which is why Milwaukee felt he was worth throwing $32 million at this past offseason. As alarming as his torpedo act in the 3-point percentage and rebounding columns have been this season, it's not like Gasol has been sparkling, either. Ilyasova might be worth the gamble, even if he's not a household name.

Like the Raptors, the Bucks find themselves jostling for playoff position in the East and Gasol (again, if healthy) could give them the scoring boost at the 5 they desperately need. According to 82games.com, the Bucks rank 27th in scoring at the center slot. Free agents aren't exactly flocking to sign in Milwaukee so trading for a star like Gasol remains one of their lone options to make a splash.

Fit level: Moderate

ugh at rondo slipping on that stupid court decal

kg never shouldve passed him the ball!

Like he makes that shot anyway

xp

rondo took and missed the shot at the end of regulation too! wtf!

Love how evan turner just turns around and stands there in the final play

would love to see bargnani and calderon on the lakers, thatd be the ultimate diantoni assignment, if they win it all w those dudes hes earned his money

man I despise all those haberstroh trades haha

If Colangelo trades for Pau he's worse than Kahn

raptors have no need for a guy like pau, denver on the other hand

i think the nuggs need to get rid of miller but i'm not sure pau is great for their system

If I had to bet it's gonna be the TWolves, Glen Taylor wants to win now because he's selling the team in 3-4 years

man I despise all those haberstroh trades haha

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, December 8, 2012 12:35 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

me too