Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Is Chris Bosh Really The Heat's Problem?
Today I came across a quote from Shaquille O'neal during a telecast with NBA TV. He said The Heat only have a Big 2 (leaving out Chris Bosh).
This got me thinking....is Chris Bosh even the problem in Miami? My answer is...not at all.
From a team aspect, Chris Bosh isn't the problem. If I were to trade anyone in the Big 3, Bosh would be the untouchable one UNLESS you got an even better big man in return.
I would trade Lebron or Wade, not both, but one of them. Yes, Chris Bosh is the least talented of the three, but he's still a very good big man.
Having a very good big man and a deadly two guard is a VERY hard combination to beat. (Kobe/Shaq is a prime example of that)
The problem with the heat is, you throw ANOTHER superstar 2 guard/SF into the equation (Lebron or Wade) and your big man isn't getting the ball enough. Not too add, your back-court is fighting for the ball constantly because they need the ball in their hands.
Chris Bosh isn't the Heat's problem. Figuring out how to play Lebron and Wade together is the issue, and unless one of them commits to playing heavily off the ball, then that problem isn't getting solved without trading one of them.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Cuttino Mobley Trying For A Comeback
HOUSTON - Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley, who retired in 2008 because of a heart ailment, would like another shot at playing in the NBA.
Mobley played for 11 years with four NBA teams, but was forced to leave the game after he was traded by the L.A. Clippers to the New York Knicks.
After a routine physical following the trade, Mobley was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
It is the same condition that led to the deaths of basketball players Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis.
"It's a lot of different variations of HCM," Mobley said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "Me playing 40 minutes a game for 11 years straight at a very high level. Mine is not serious at all. As you can see 11 years of playing and still playing three years later after they said you shouldn't play. You shouldn't run. You shouldn't do this. You shouldn't play that. A lot of different things they said you shouldn't do."
This week Mobley was back on the court in Houston taking part in pick up games with NBA players like Washington Wizards forward Rashard Lewis, Indiana Pacers guard T.J. Ford and Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowry.
However, Mobley wants more than that.
He wants to play with and against those guys again when the games matter and he said he and his agent, Andy Miller, have made the NBA aware of his situation.
"I've been trying to do that," Mobley said. "You have to get doctor's evaluations and all this other stuff, but you got to understand too what the Knicks put out there, the notion, nobody wants to take that chance now. I've been playing with it for so many years. You ask yourself was it genuine or did you do it for a reason?
"I'm not done. It depends on what the league says when the time comes. It's been a difficult process."
"What the Knicks did kind of putting a stomp in it and giving people that fear about me, something I was born with."
Mobley said he is not happy with the way the Knicks handled his situation in 2008.
"At first I was cool with it because I didn't do research on it, but then doing research and getting different opinions, then I became upset because the corporation, the big company trying to get as much money as they can and do different things like that, for me I don't think that was right," Mobley said.
"You either waive me, you don't take me in, you let me go somewhere else, let me create my own destiny like I did in 1999 when I came to the Rockets. Let me create my own decisions. Don't make the decisions for me, clogging my heads with different things.
"I'm not upset now because I know it's a business and that's how they treat it as a business, but it's two and a half, three years I haven't played. It's been a waste."
Mobley, who was drafted in the second round by the Houston Rockets in 1999, also played for the Orlando Magic and the Sacramento Kings.
He got a chance to get some work in with the Boston Celtics last September.
"(Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny Ainge is unbelievable," Mobley said. "Great dude."
"The Celtics, I went in and played with Paul (Pierce) and Ray (Allen) and those guys. It was a three-day thing. I signed a waiver.
"I went up there not to get picked. I went up there just to let them know I'm fine. I can still play and this was just last September. So hopefully things will change and somebody will give me a shot and let me play or just help out. It'd be fun. If not, it's fine. It's all good."
Mobley's agent, Andy Miller, was able to find two jobs for him last year.
Mobley turned down an opportunity to play for a team in Poland.
He also had a shot to play for a team in the NBA Development League, but the two sides were not able to make it happen.
"They gave a laundry list of things that we needed to do, protocol, of things that needed to be done to put him in a position that they would be willing to offer him a contract and the list and the demand within the list, they were too cumbersome," Miller said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.
"It had to do more with I think the league trying to protect themselves with regard to exposure, if God forbid something should ever happen to Cat."
Miller didn't want to identify the NBA D-League team that expressed an interest in Mobley.
"There is a herd-like mentality in our business that when a player has been labeled under a certain category, there is a tendency for that to be the label regardless of change of scenery," Miller said.
Miller has continued to check out every possibility for his client.
"Last time I spoke with every team in the (NBA) league," Miller said. "I treated him as a free agent in the hopes of finding him a job regardless of the economic package that would have been put together.
"I looked for jobs across the board and came up with the one with the Euro-League team in Poland and we are looking for opportunities. That hasn't changed at all.
Mobley understands his dream of returning to the NBA may end up being just that.
"Three years not playing, maybe it is a pipe dream, but it's just fun to play
It's great to hear that he's healthy, but let's be real here. He hasn't played in 3 years, and he already has 11 seasons of mileage on him. Add the potential season ending lockout to that, and he hasn't played in 4 years. For him to think that a comeback is legit at this point is foolish.
If I'm an owner and I know that potentially cap room could be a lot smaller after all this lockout foolishness is over with, I'm not dropping a dime on an old 2 guard with a medical condition who hasn't played at the NBA Level in 3-4 years.
Best of luck to Cuttino however.
Monday, July 11, 2011
10 Best Beards In Sports Today (Part 2)
5. Dave Martinez
The former Rays outfielder is now a bench coach for Tampa Bay Rays, and his beard is an easy indication as to why any team would want to hire him to their staff. Combine that with the fact that the beard makes him look like a Cuban drug dealer (especially when his shades are in full effect) and you’ve got the perfect argument to put him at number 5 on our list
4. Brett Keisel
This Pittsburgh Steelers’ beard speaks for itself. I mean literally….I would not be surprised if his beard started talking. It’s phenomenal. It has its own Facebook page and Twitter page, so go Google it and start following right now.
3. Paul Mara
You know your beard is bad-a when you can’t even see your mouth anymore. This Canadiens’ defenseman has a beard that men across the globe dream about. It legitimately looks like there is a wig on his face, which puts him at number 3 on our list.
2. Brian Wilson
Ah, Brian Wilson. Not only is he a former LSU Tiger, but he’s grown to national fame not only for his amazing performance in last years MLB playoffs, but for a beard that makes him look like a man among boys. The legend of Brian Wilson’s beard puts him at number 2.
And finally…..
1. Kimbo Slice
First, if you have not seen Kimbo Slice’s street fight YouTube videos than stop reading this right now and go watch them. You will have your life changed. This street fighter/MMA wanna-be has a beard that is known around the world. At one point he was homeless (if you couldn’t tell by his beard) and through popping a guys eyeball like a grape in a fight, he became a YouTube legend (and eventually rich). This beard is not only full, bushy, and mean-looking but it’s got a history/legend to it that no one else can touch. This is the meanest beard in sports my friends.
That’s all for today folks. Thanks for reading, and go subscribe via email on the right hand side to keep up with us.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
10 Best Beards In Sports Today (Part 1)
10. Drew Gooden
Drew Gooden has bounced around more locker rooms than a Kardashian, but through it all his beard has stayed strong enough to put him at number 10. I mean….look at the picture.
9. Johnny Damon
Oh good ole’ Johnny Appleseed (Yes, I just made up that nickname for him). Famous for his days as a Red Sox All-Star, Johnny Damon has a beard that most lumberjacks dream about which puts him at number 9 on our list. Bravo Johnny….bravo.
8. Jose Bautista
Jose Bautista has a beard that makes his Dominican countrymen screaming “ole!”. Could it be steroids not only giving him the power to bang out homeruns like a frat boy at his little sisters high school graduation party, but also the power to grow such a bodacious beard? Maybe, but who cares, because it’s tight as crap.
7. Baron Davis
I think what puts Baron Davis ahead of the others on this list is the fact that he’s kinda chubby and round like a marshmallow, and we all know from watching Rick Ross live life, that the bigger you are, the tighter your beard is. This puts Baron Davis at number 7 on our list.
6. James Harden
Somewhat of a new face to the bearding world, James Harden makes his beard lovable purely by playing next to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant who faces are barer than a Janet Jackson breast at the Super Bowl. His beard brings a thickness and aura that puts him at #6 on our list.
That’s it for our list today. Check back in soon to see who gets crowned “Best Beard in Sports”.
Friday, July 8, 2011
A Year Later.....Should We Have Seen The Decision Coming?
With the words “I’ll be taking my talents to South Beach” Lebron James’ image was forever changed. The Decision was a one hour self absorbed special that left a city ruthlessly scorned, with a charity aspect poorly put in to try and mask one man’s arrogance. Now a year later, Lebron James’ image is worst than it’s ever been before. But we have to ask ourselves, how did we not see this coming like a Brad Lidge blown save?I’ll be the first to admit, I was a HUGE Lebron James fan when he came into the league. I had the Lebron James high school jersey in the days when you weren’t a hipster or complete loser if you wore a jersey, and my email to this day is still “KingJames2004”. But with that said, the season before The Decision I started to notice things about Lebron James that negatively impacted my opinion of him.
First, I st
arted to notice a lot of theatrics during his games with Cleveland. I have no problem with the powder toss, but then he would lead his teammates in dancing like Chris Brown on acid during the middle games, and the theatrics became classless. He even was doing the over-the-top jumping over fans in the stands when running for a loose ball, and add to that the pre-game antics of pretending to shoot a photograph while the team posed like they were at their high school prom and it made you start to wonder about who Lebron James REALLY was.
Secondly, I began to notice a bit of arrogance to Lebron. He started talking about himself in 3rd person like he was The Rock (Which he isn’t even close to, and if you’re not already following The Rock on twitter then stop reading this right now and go do it). You also began to see the media start to question his performance/his legacy so to say, and you could see in his reactions that it was the first time in his career (I’d go as far to say his whole sporting life) that he had his talents challenged. He got very defensive and had a look of shock and anger that could rival that of Cubs fans during the Bartman incident. Then he got dunked on by Wizards Guard and at that time Xavier player Jordan Crawford at his Nike Camp, and had the tape confiscated like it was a celebrity sex tape scandal.
Lastly, and I think the memory everyone remembers, is his collapse during the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. Everyone who was watching that series was more confident that Lebron quit than people were that OJ Simpson was guilty. It was like he was a ghost out there on the court. Yeah, there were rumors of off the court issues, but how can you quit on your team like that? It was this moment that solidified to me that there was a huge part of Lebron we had yet to see.
I can say I’m about as surprised as when I found out that Ricky Martin was gay, that the Public Relations disaster that was “The Decision” happened, because Lebron had been giving us bits and pieces of that character for a while. Now a year later he has another decision to make….continue down this PR disaster path or change people’s perception of “The King”.
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Kobe 360 Dunk At His Academy (What knee injury??)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Does Matt Kemp Have Star Potential?
When I turn on ESPN every morning as of late all I see is Women’s World Cup, Women’s Tennis, and as much as it pains me to say it…. I even saw Women’s Golf on SportsCenter. Besides thinking “Why in the name of Antoine Walker is the world ending so soon?”, I had to ask myself why is a major sport like baseball not in the sports television equation more than a bunch of short haired women with calves more muscular than Adrian Peterson? I think the answer to that question is that Major League Baseball doesn’t have a “face”. They don’t have interesting characters, personalities, and storylines that drive leagues like the NBA and the NFL; The Lebron James’ or the Rex Ryans of the MLB so to say. So I began to examine what MLB player could potentially get the sports world talking more than a blonde housewife during her husband’s favorite football game. I immediately jumped to Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 26 year old Kemp is one of the quickly rising stars in Major League Baseball, and so he has the perfect potential to be that spark that baseball needs. There’s a formula when determining a players star potential. It goes:
Personal Brand = Personality + Performance x Visibility
So let’s first look at Personality
Personality
Matt Kemp’s personality could beat Anne Frank in a hide and go seek contest. It’s nowhere to be found. To be honest, I couldn’t tell you the difference between Matt Kemp’s voice and the governor of Ohio’s . We need to see more of Matt Kemp’s personality. He’s in the city of Los Angeles where outspoken, bright, lovable personalities shine. Take advantage of that. Do a few major interviews and let your personality shine.
Performance
Now performance is a different subject. Since he came into the league in 2006, Kemp has increased his at bats and games played each season. Only 88 games into this current season, Kemp has the 6th best batting average in the league, 9th in Hits, 6th in RBIs, the 5th best on base percentage, and the 3rd best slugging percentage. Needless to say, he’s dominating the league and is a clear contender in the NL MVP race. Not too add, he's an NL All-Star and will be participating in the leagues Homerun Derby. But the only problem is, his team makes the Astros look like they deserve to be in the Majors. They’re last in their division, and haven’t been a contender since Manny Ramirez left the team (and were they even a TOP contender then?).
Visibility
Matt Kemp had a recent romance with R&B singer Rhianna (Yes, th
e I got my a** whooped by Chris Brown and turned into a goth Rhianna) which put him into the limelight and made his name a bit more well known than it was before. But that being said, he still doesn’t have the endorsement deals and media coverage that he needs to get that visibility. If he’s ever going to become a star, he needs to become more visible to the public’s eye. And again, he’s in LA so he has the prime opportunity and potential to do that. A break out performance at the Homerun Derby might help give him some visibility as well.
So with all this said Matt Kemp has the POTENTIAL to be a star that puts baseball in the forefront again. He’s had a taste of the Hollywood limelight dating Rhianna, he’s got the performance to back it up, and he’s in the right environment in Los Angeles. Now we just need to see WHO Matt Kemp is, a better team placed around him, and see him start to build on his brand.
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Maurkice Pouncey Loves Him Some Big Girls
You already know Maurkice Pouncey be walking into plus size lingerie stores looking like...
The Demonization Of Lebron James
Here's an article on Lebron James from Forbes:
“If LeBron were an IPO, I’d buy it … At 21, I wasn’t remotely as mature as LeBron.” — Warren Buffett
Now that the NBA season is over, I have taken a moment to reflect. The lasting memory is not of the glorious success of the Mavs. It is of LeBron Jamesand the season-long media/fan obsession with seeing him and the Heat fail. As one weary sportscaster put it, “We discuss LeBron as if he was our media Facebook status.”
It occurred to me that if all I knew about someone is that he announced a job move and staged it so that $2 million in cash would be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of America, my first reaction would probably be, “Now there’s a person with media savvy who is also a good person at heart.” Add the fact that the donated cash was virtually all the advertising revenue from that single event and I would feel reassured it was not just a ploy for disguised greed. If I further discovered that another $1 million in computers and Nike equipment was spread among eight Boys and Girls clubs – most notably Akron, and Cleveland, I would feel even better about the donor who gave back something significant – not just empty words and a wave – to the cities he was raised and was employed.
But if I knew nothing more, I would probably scratch my head about why the network that aired the announcement only made a minor footnote of the $3 million chartable aspect of the event. And I would scratch my head again if the donor is primarily blamed for the event, when the worst part about it was the publicity, controlled by the network. If I took a moment to reflect, I would say, “Wait a minute. ESPN controlled the sickening number of promotional ploys leading up to the decision. Only ESPN could create the hype because only ESPN controls the airspace.” Then I would say, “For all I know ‘The Decision’ was ESPN’s title.” Clearly, ESPN made the decision to announce the upcoming decision over and over again, day and night as if it was the second coming of Jesus Christ, instead of the second team for King James. Yet, the demon as crowned by the media was James, not the media itself. This was the beginning of the demonization of LeBron James.
So let’s add a few other facts. The City of Cleveland and the donor’s prior employer had the benefit of his services for seven years. During that time the employer’s product (a team) went from mediocre-at-best with a half empty arena to a team on the verge of being the best in the world with a frenzied sold-out arena. The owner made millions. The local economy grew by millions per year. Yet the employee who is leaving didn’t say anything bad about the City before he left. In fact, he said he loved them and he understood their frustration. His kind words came despite knowing they were burning his uniform in effigy and creating as much venom as their imagination could muster.
In response to the employee’s resignation, the employer’s principal owner called him a “coward”, who was “selfish” and one who committed an act of “betrayal” for exercising his lawful right to pick a new employer. Objectively, on those facts, I hope we would all conclude that if the employee gave up millions of dollars in pursuit of a championship, that kind of selfishness is not so bad. The reprehensible selfishness would have been demanding all the money he could get even if it hurt the teams salary cap – financial stability.
Here's my take on Lebron James...
This is what happens when you tell a kid his whole life that he's untouchable and give him special treatment.
If you're shown the world in one light your whole life, then that's how you're going to begin to view it. You can see it in his comments and his demeanor.
The "Chosen One" and "King James" tattoos, and just the way he caries himself. All a product of what he's been fed since he was a middle school phenom.
I blame the people around him just as much as I do him. They didn't help keep him humble, grounded, and show him the right view on life.
Oh, and don't get me wrong, he needs to take ALOT of responsibility for his action himself as well.
As well, the media definitely has taken advantage of this flaw in him and put it center stage in order to get ratings. But being in the lime light is apart of being a big time gifted athlete. You have to know AND accept that if you want to pursue a career in sports.
Hopefully all of this negative criticism will eventually be a wake up call for him, and he can take a look in the mirror and do some personal growth.
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Monday, July 4, 2011
Andre Iguodala For Lamar Odom??
The 76ers are continuing to explore trade options for Andre Iguodala, and league sources said that a deal with the Lakers involving Lamar Odom has been discussed recently.
While it's unclear whether the deal has real potential or is still alive, it's yet another sign that the Sixers are determined to land an impact player while improving their salary-cap situation in any trade for their second-leading scorer and top defender. Iguodala is owed a combined $44 million for the next three seasons (including $13.5 million next season), while Odom is set to make $8.9 million next season in the final guaranteed year of his contract.
The deal would have to include another Lakers player in order to work under salary-cap rules. One of the sources said the Lakers might include small forward Ron Artest, who will be paid $21.7 million over the next three seasons and has an early-termination option for 2013-14.
Iguodala is in play for Minnesota as well, according to a rival general manager who called the possibility of the Sixers acquiring the No. 2 pick in a package for their 27-year-old swingman "definitely real." The Timberwolves have been seeking a high-level veteran in exchange for the second selection in Thursday's draft and other pieces.
As for another oft-cited Iguodala scenario, a source close to the situation said talks between Philadelphia and Golden State regarding Warriors shooting guard Monta Ellis have been quiet for weeks.
Another bad trade idea.
You lose Lamar Odom. Your only legit big man coming off the bench.
The Lakers make this trade and Derrick Character and Devin Ebanks are the only big men coming off the bench. (And Ebanks is more of SF)
I like the idea of trading Artest for Iguodala. You get younger, more athletic, and don't lose much defense at the SF position. Only problem is Iguodala's jumpshot is questionable. (But it's not as if Artest's is any better)
But throwing Lamar Odom in the trade is what makes it a bad idea.
Unless they get a legit back-up big man (which the Sixers don't have) including in the deal then it's a bad trade with Lamar Odom involved.
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Jimmer Fredette Compares Himself To...Deron Williams and Steve Nash??
.....seriously?
He couldn't distribute the basketball like Steve Nash or Deron Williams if his life depended on it. Not too add, I'm not confident his game will translate to the NBA.
Now the argument everyone will jump to make is "But what about JJ Redick?!?!". The immediate first comparison people try to make for the white college basketball player they want to see succeed is JJ Redick. Unfortunately, his game isn't like Redick's. Redick was and has always been a spot up shooter.
Then you'll hear the Stephen Curry argument, that he was criticized that his game wouldn't translate to the next level. Not a good comparison.
Stephen Curry's game was never getting to the basket. Even in college. Not too add he can dish the ball WAY better than Jimmer.
The criticism on Curry was that he was too small and weak to get his shot off at the NBA level.
Also, Curry is a pure shooter. Jimmer is a streaky shooter. Because he's an nonathletic white guy, people want to be quick to label him a pure shooter, when he's not. He's a scorer more than a pure shooter, and I think he'll struggle picking up points if he tries to score the ways he did in college.
His game is like Adam Morrison's. They both need the ball in their hands. Both lack defensive skill and athleticism. Both of them don't have games that translate to them getting to the basket at the NBA level. Both of their games rely on jump shots off the dribble. Both of them strived in their college careers off being able to launch it up whenever from wherever. (Both of them launched long 3's ALL the time)
Go watch Adam Morrison college highlights, and then watch Jimmer's. They're games are very similar.
And we've seen how Adam Morrison's career has worked out.
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Shannon Brown Opts Out Of Lakers To Become A Free Agent
According to a Tweet that appeared in the feed of Los Angeles Times reporter Brad Turner, Lakers' backup guard Shannon Brown will exercise his player option and opt out of his contract with the Lakers, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Brown signed a two year contract with the Lakers last summer, with the second year being a player option for Brown. Brown, who started off the 2010-11 season well, struggled in the second half of the season and was a member of the Lakers' bench that was heavily outplayed by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Although no possible destinations have been linked to Brown, he is reportedly still considering a return to the Lakers, with whom he has won two NBA championships with in two and a half seasons with the franchise.
Brown averaged just over eight points per game with the Lakers in 2010-11, while playing in all 82 regular season and all 10 postseason games.
This is a poor decision by Shannon in my opinion.
He tried to test out free agency last year, and quickly found out he wasn't as highly tout of a free agent as he thought. It ended up causing him to get less money this year than he was making before.
I expect him to get the same kind of courtship this year in free agency, except I don't think the Lakers will bail him out and resign him.
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Kevin Love For Pau Gasol?
Right before the 2011 NBA Draft, there were rumors circulating of a potential trade of Kevin Love and the 2nd overall pick for Pau Gasol.Many people found this to be a steal for the Lakers, but I believed otherwise. Here's my thoughts:
Pau is better. He's taller. He's longer. He's better defensively. Much more of a threat for blocks in the paint. He's a better passer. He's a MUCH better scorer.
Now I know you're immediately going to say "but Kevin Love averages 20 points and Pau averages 19".
Pau averaged 19 points with the leagues 5th leading scorer on his team, and being the number two option.
Kevin Love put up 20 points a game being the number one option on his team, and the only other legit scoring threat on his team being Michael Beasley.
Pau spent the majority of his whole career being the number one option in Memphis. And as I stated earlier, he averaged 17.5 - 21 points per game his whole time there.
Not too add, he took that team to THREE STRAIGHT PLAYOFF APPEARANCES, and had winning seasons there with a sub-par supporting cast. Something Kevin Love has yet to do. He's the number one option and has yet to help that team win more than 17 games in a season.
Not too add Pau shoots a much better field goal percentage than him.
AND Pau has never averaged less than 17.5 points per game his WHOLE CAREER. Meaning, his rookie season included.
Kevin Love averaged 11 and 14 points respectively his first 2 seasons.
AND most of Kevin Love's points come from put backs, threes, or hitting a mid range jumper.
Outside of hitting threes, Pau does ALL of that AND he has a post game which is HUGE for a PF.
The only thing Kevin Love has on Pau is his age and rebounding.
The Lakers were 3rd in the league in rebounding last year, so rebounding isn't an issue that needs to be addressed.
And at the age of 30, Pau has atleast 2-3 years of continuing to play at this level. Maybe even more because he's only been in the NBA 9 years, which is not a lot for someone his age, and he has no history of injury.
Why would a team that is already third in the league as a team in rebounding, want to give up everything that Pau offers you that Kevin Love doesn't in order to be a little bit better of a rebounding team and a get a little younger at 1 position? (And let's be real here, he's not going to be putting up those same rebounding numbers playing next to Andrew Bynum)
Now, the main issues with taking that #2 pick is:
A. If you make the pick, Derrick Williams is more than likely not going to be more than a bench player to small time starter in this league. Yeah, he could prove scouts wrong, but that's the more than likely what's
going to happen. He's a tweener who is shaky on a lot of the skills needed for his position(s).B. You don't know what's going to come of that draft pick in such a shaky draft class. It's WAY too much of a risk.
C. With this draft class being weak, the value of that pick is a lot lower, and so the trade value for it isn't what you would get in typical years. Why do you think there's so much talk of these struggling teams wanting to trade these high picks away?
I just think there's an overreaction to the Lakers most recent playoff loss. They don't go to the finals for the 4th year in a row and everyone immediately wants to hit the panic button and blow up what's worked 3 out of the last 4 years. There was ZERO talk of even possibly trading Pau before now. The idea of trading Pau before his most recent playoff performance would have been LAUGHED at.
The issue for most of this season (outside of the playoffs) wasn't Pau. It was a need for a more athletic and better shooting swing man, youth and consistent shooting at the PG position, and more consistent bench play.
Those are the issues that need to be addressed and they don't get addressed in this trade scenario.