I was in fifth grade when I had found out that the Lakers had just signed Karl Malone and Gary Payton.  

My first thought was championship; my second was championship, and so on. 

I just could not help thinking about it.  I mean stop and think for a minute, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Payton, and Malone; four Hall of Fame players? 

Well, even with all of that talent, the Lakers had a dismal regular season for a team of such talent, and were beaten by the Detroit Pistons 4-1 in the NBA Finals. 

So, this made me think.  With the Lakers trading for Pau Gasol, the Suns for Shaq, and the Mavericks for Jason Kidd, does this mean that one of these teams will be the 2008 Western Conference Champions? 

No, as I saw in the past with the old "Fantastic Four" Lakers team, talent does not mean everything.  Team chemistry, defensive pressure, and heart will lead a team to a championship. 

Don’t get me wrong—each of these teams will benefit dramatically from these trades.  The Lakers received an extremely talented and smart player in Gasol, who fits very will in the Lakers triangle offense.  The Suns have gotten rid of Marion, whose whining distracted his whole team, and received a solid, but old, out of shape, and injury prone O'Neal.  The Mavericks have gotten rid of a bunch of their scrubs and received a player who in my mind is the modern day "Mr. Triple-Double" in Kidd.

When I first heard of the Lakers trading for Gasol, my first thought was championship...but then I remembered a Lakers team of four or five years ago—a team that had the most talented roster in the NBA, and a team that was not crowned NBA Champions.

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