Kobe: We Shouldn’t Have Traded Marc Gasol
If you recall, the rights to Pau Gasol’s brother Marc, went from the Lakers to Memphis in that huge deal that brought Pau to L.A. in the second half of last season. It was all fine and good until Kobe and Team USA got an up-close look at Marc in the Olympics.
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
“In hindsight, we probably didn’t have to give him up to get Pau,” Bryant said. “We should have kept Marc, too.”
How’s that for the ultimate endorsement? Bryant would like to have Marc Gasol back.
He rendered this opinion in the wake of the United States’ 119-82 win over Spain Saturday night, which gave him plenty of time to watch.
“Me and Kobe were talking about it,” said Kidd. “He’s a guy who knows how to play the game. Anyone would love to have him on their team.”
And yes, those of you who remember Gasol as a student at Lausanne Collegiate School must be choking on your cornflakes right now.
Back then, Gasol was a chubby kid who would have been lucky to be given a chance to walk on at Memphis.
Now he’s at 7-1, 280-pound center for the Spanish national team, playing in the Olympics and preparing to move to Memphis and the NBA.
Will Marc end up being better than Pau? Who knows. We’ve had a few readers on this site continuously kill us for not giving Marc enough respect, but we will … once he actually does something in the League.
In the meantime, there’s no way you can fault the Lakers for doing whatever they had to in order to make that Pau deal happen in order to win right away. It was 100 percent the right move at the time and definitely worth the gamble that Marc someday might be a serious force in the NBA.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:15 am
karizmatic says:
I suspected that giving up Marc might be a bad idea, but the article is on pointe, can’t blame the Lakers for giving him a Kwame Brown up for Pau Gasol, it’s not like it was a bad trade for the Lakers that is. On the other hand when is Kobe going to learn and stop trying to play GM? The Lakers front office obviously knows what its doing.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:16 am
karizmatic says:
I suppose I should have done that “first” shit everyone always does.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Batman says:
The original trade for Pau was already in favor for the Lakers, Kobe wanted it even more in their favor?
August 18th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Dime Magazine says:
Batman -
good call - that deal was crazy lopsided in favor of the Lakers to begin with.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:34 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
@Batman
come on, That trade was totally fair…
August 18th, 2008 at 10:44 am
the_baconator says:
I wasn’t a huge fan of Marc Gasol until I watched him play in the Olympics. Dude’s gonna be a good fit next year for the Grizzlies. He’s like a poor-man’s version of his brother.
Marc “The Lumberjack” Gasol for ROTY!!! haha
August 18th, 2008 at 10:44 am
the_baconator says:
my bad, ROY
August 18th, 2008 at 11:02 am
izzy says:
Uhm…… they still lost by what? 40? Marc Gasol is a decent player…. and a banger, but if he is a lite version of Pau, and Pau couldnt make Memphis into a force, is he going to make that much of a difference?
At best he might put up 13PPG and 8RPG, but if ur still winning 15 games in season, that doesnt make you much of a success does it?
August 18th, 2008 at 11:14 am
iain. says:
he wont be a “lite” version of Pau, he’s much more physical and more of a banger, somthing the Lakers could really do with next year. He’s not as good as Pau i agree but “Pau Lite” doesn’t really fit with dudes game, makes him sound weaker and more brittle than his bro, which he aint!
August 18th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Michorizo says:
Lakers never should have traded away Caron Butler either…but shit happens
August 18th, 2008 at 11:32 am
JarrJohnson says:
@ Batman.
I agree. Completely lopsided trade, but can you blame Kobe for wanting to have his cake and eat it too? They could have used him aganist the Celts in the finals. He’s going to be legitimate big body in the West, mabye not an all star, but a solid footer. I would love to see him in a Nuggets jersey.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Xavier Garcia says:
Thanks Dime for picking this up
@izzy
Dude, if you’re gonna judge any Spanish player based on that match, then we should assume that Calderon and Pau are terrible, right? Cant judge a player when the whole team plays like garbage.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
nerditry says:
Marc looked good, but Reyes looked like the next great forward to come outta Europe. Nice post moves, 10 ft shot and grabbed more than a couple of contested reboundss.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
dagood says:
Reyes is good, but he won’t be the next great forward out of Europe… Dude earns too much money in Spain already so he ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
doc says:
Aint none of them dudes look like the next shit to me.But then again I dont watch the games that dont involve the USA so I dont know what he can do against weaker comp,but I havent seen flashes from anybody but Rubio.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
dagood says:
agree with doc. Rubio is the only non-US player showing anything that’s impressed me. He gambles too much on D, but then again the kid is only 17 years old. He has a ton of potential that’s for sure. I just hope people stop with the pistol pete comparison - he doesn’t play anything like that, but i suppose people have to compare him with a white player for some reason…
August 18th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
The Deal was obviously lopsided in the Laker’s favor.
I like Marc better than Pau, atleast Marc is not a lil punk bitch who’s scared to get bumped around.
It was mad funny to see Kobe knock Pau on his ass within the first 2 minutes of the game, who knows better than Kobe about how soft Pau gets…
August 18th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Damn Kobe.. SHUT UP..
He will be good but that trade got us into the finals.. At least say it differently.. “Man Marc really surprised us with his play.. I miss him already”..
Shit do i gotta be Kobe’s PR man?? this foo needs to shut his ass and have surgery on that pinkie and get in the gym with the team..
After the gold of course