From David Aldridge's NBA blog
NOBODY ASKED ME, BUT ...
Might it not be time for the Lakers to pull the trigger on a Pau Gasol deal?
Kobe Bryant walked off the court in the waning seconds of Friday's loss in Memphis, a show of bad form to be sure, but also an unmistakable sign of his disgust at a .500 record, with no immediate sign that Mike D'Antoni's hiring will right the Lakers' up and down play.
There were ominous hints dropped last week that the Lakers aren't happy with Gasol's conditioning, never a good omen. It's more likely that, as Mike Brown found before him, D'Antoni knows Gasol and Dwight Howard don't quite fit together -- and since Howard is the future of the franchise, it's more likely he stays long term than Gasol. Thus, the need to get something for the 32-year-old while the getting's good.
Both Pau Gasol (right) and Derrick Williams could use a change of scenery.
So, why not deal Gasol to the Timberwolves, as part of a three-team trade that would also include the Wizards?
Again: I have no information -- none -- that the Lakers are contemplating trading Gasol, or are entertaining or seeking offers for Gasol. This is pure speculation, not information or even rumor. This is me thinking out loud.
In this (imaginary) deal, Washington would send second-year forward Chris Singleton and former Laker Trevor Ariza to the Lakers, who would also get guards Luke Ridnour and J.J. Barea from Minnesota. The Wizards and Wolves would, essentially, swap 2011 Lottery picks about which both are quite uncertain, with Washington's Jan Vesely going to Minnesota and Minnesota's Derrick Williams going to Washington, along with center Nikola Pekovic. Guard Chris Duhon would go from the Lakers to Wizards to make the trade work cap-wise.
The Lakers may list Gasol at power forward, but that's only because they've had Andrew Bynum and, now, Howard on the roster. Gasol, too, is a center. And in Minnesota, he could return to that position and get the most of his still-considerable array of post moves and deft passing.
And the Wolves' interest in Gasol is hardly news. They've tried to make a deal for him for the last year or so, without success. Gasol playing next to Kevin Love would open up all kinds of possibilities in Rick Adelman's offense, harkening back to the Sacramento days when Chris Webber and Vlade Divac sliced up opposing defenses with brilliant passing from the high and low post. When Ricky Rubio comes back next month, there wouldn't be a better passing team in the game than Minnesota.
By all accounts, Williams made an earnest effort to come to camp in shape this season, but it isn't translating into many more minutes (a little under 24 minutes a game this season, after 21.5 minutes last season). And with Love back sooner than expected from his broken hand, those minutes are more likely to go down than up.
Dealing Williams now would also streamline the Wolves' rotation, with Dante Cunningham capable of backing up Love quite nicely, with no worries about stunting the development of a high Lottery pick. Vesely would have to get in where he could fit in in Minnesota, but Gasol's arrival would get all the attention, allowing Vesely a soft landing and giving Minnesota a bigger young body than Williams to mix into the rotation.
Washington and Los Angeles have done deals before -- the Wiz got Caron Butler from the Lakers in 2005 for, um, Kwame Brown -- so Ernie Grunfeld owes Mitch Kupchak one. This deal would give the Lakers four players who would seem to be much better fits for D'Antoni's system than Gasol, adding to L.A.'s depth with veterans, but at a price that won't give management sticker shock; Ariza's $7.3 million salary would be the biggest of the quartet by far, and none are under contract for more than three years.
Giving the Lakers two wings in Ariza and Singleton that could add greatly to the team's athleticism and transition abilities would be a boost. Ariza's shot has been defective the last couple of years, but he won a title with Bryant in 2009 in L.A. before signing a big free agent contract with the Rockets. He knows what playing with the Mamba is like. And Steve Nash has a way of getting the most out of teammates who can run the floor.
Barea could also thrive playing in D'Antoni's system. He showed in the 2011 playoffs with Dallas he could play important minutes at both guard spots to help his team win games. And if Nash's broken leg limits him this season, having quality depth at the point in Ridnour and/or Barea would keep the Lakers' offense running -- if not at peak efficiency, at least at an acceptable level. (Or did you see the look Kobe gave Darius Morris after Morris missed a wide-open jumper Friday?)
The Wizards are growing concerned with each passing second that Vesely, the sixth pick overall in 2011, is heading toward Bustville; getting another shot at a 2011 Lottery player would solve the problem, and they liked Williams a lot before the '11 Draft.
Williams' spotty rookie year and minutes this season while Love was out seem to have proven that he's no NBA three, but the woeful Wizards' needs are many, so he'd get every chance in the world to solidify himself at the four in Washington, leaving Martell Webster, who's played well so far this season, to start at the three. Adding big Pekovic to the mix would also give the Wiz legit center depth along with promising Kevin Seraphin if and when Nene's next injury sidelines him for a month or two.
The Wizards would also be out of excuses; with the top pick in the 2010 Draft (John Wall), the second pick in '11 (Wiliams) and the third pick in 2012 (rookie Bradley Beal), they would be following owner Ted Leonsis's desire to build through the Draft; dramatic improvement over the course of this season following Washington's disastrous start had better follow.
If Draft picks were needed to sweeten the deal, the Wolves have Memphis' top-14 protected pick next year to dangle, and the Wizards have all their first-rounders going forward. (Though it's hard to imagine anyone helping the Lakers, facing the post-Bryant era in two years, replenish themselves with young, cheap talent.)