Mitch Kupchak shouldn’t be playing hardball. In his desire to trade Pau Gasol, the GM of the Los Angeles Lakers should not have insisted on receiving Dion Waiters or a first-round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nobody has overpaid for a rental since Ernie Grunfeld sent Ray Allen to Seattle for Gary Payton — and that was a long time ago. Kupchak should have lowered his demands to match the team’s expectations. The Lakers are done for this season and should be
As an action packed weekend of basketball comes to a close, here’s the good, bad and the ugly of what took place. [Read more…]
As Sunday night winds down, the desired time that both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers had hoped to complete a deal involving Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol has almost expired. Bynum’s contract becomes fully guaranteed Tuesday afternoon at 5:00pm EST, so there is still time to complete a deal, but all parties involved would like such a transaction to happen sooner rather than later to allow time for everything to clear. Sometimes that process can take up to 48
If you haven’t been watching Golden State basketball recently, why? Seriously, why? They’re just as fun to watch as they were last year, only now they play defense as well (fourth in defensive efficiency). They just knocked off two of the East’s three decent teams in the space of two nights. The Blazers have made the West a little more crowded at the top, but Steph Curry and Co. are showing that they belong right up there with those top teams.
The Pau Gasol-for-Andrew Bynum trade talks appear to be dormant but not dead. The Lakers would like to get another worthy asset thrown into in the deal … but so would the Cavs. And you know what? I have to side with the Cavs and general manager Chris Grant on this one. By taking Gasol’s $19.3 million salary off the Lakers’ books, they will drop Los Angels below the luxury tax threshold, saving the Buss family in the area of $20 million.
As the NBA season finds itself some 30-games into the season, we are starting to get an idea of who’s who around the league. For the most part, we know who will be around to contend in April, May and June. But the question today is who will be a real threat? And who will assert themselves over the next two months while Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are sidelined. Yes, Paul (separated shoulder) is out, too — for those of you who didn’t
Last week, we ran a post from @Betropolitan listing the incredible odds on winning the Eastern Conference for teams other than the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. It seemed strange at the time that the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls were the third choice, at 25-1, but it was a reminder that Vegas is all-knowing. And those oddsmakers look even smarter this morning after the Raptors put together their signature win of the season, defeating the mighty Indiana Pacers 95-92 last
Four years ago, when the Los Angeles Lakers were winning their second NBA championship in as many years behind the big bodied, long armed and incredible skill of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (oh, and that Kobe guy), would it have ever crossed your mind to see the two Laker bigs as the centerpiece of a midseason trade? For each other? [Read more…]