Pau Gasol and 10 NBA Players Who Must Be Traded for the Greater Good

The sooner these NBA players and their employers part ways, the better off everyone will be.

I'm talking better prospects from their (should be former) teams, better basketball for the fans, better ratings for the league and even better opportunities for the players themselves.

I'm talking happy smiles and fun for every arm of the goddess called basketball.

And there's no shame in admitting that.

In each case discussed on the slides ahead, the parties in question tried to work things out. They counseled, bargained, explored every possible option, and by now should have realized that some differences are irreconcilable.

Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis can score. From 35 feet, in the lane, on the break, facing the sideline with only one foot in-bounds, Ellis can score.

Ellis has never played on a team that can compensate for the things he can't do—pass and defend.

If he did, though, Ellis could do some awesome things in this here league.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News imagines Ellis on a team like the Chicago Bulls—a spotlight city where he could be all tattoos and firepower and playoff magic.

From the Warriors' perspective, Ellis has been redundant ever since the emergence of Stephen Curry. Moving him for an interior defender makes them better in the long-term.

For the league, moving Ellis to a contender puts a highlight reel player on a highlight reel team. And we likey the highlights.

Pau Gasol

I don't know what it's like to play professional basketball in a state of perpetual denial, but it has to look something like what Pau Gasol is doing this year.

The Lakers attempted to dispatch Gasol before the season started in a proposed Chris Paul trade. This after he revitalized the franchise and played Star B to Kobe Bryant's Star A on back-to-back championship teams.

That cold dismissal gave way to an awkward reunion after the NBA nixed the deal.

Um...hehe...welcome back, Pau!

Gasol soldiers on, but it's hard to imagine how Los Angeles can reconcile its ambitions with the broken ego of its jilted superstar. In order to get where the Lakers want to go, the fallout from the Pau(l) disaster can't be left to linger.

Andrew Bynum's emergence as a premier centers only adds fuel to the trade flame. Los Angeles no longer needs Gasol down low the way it did in years past and might use him to land a point guard or more athletic wing player.

Andray Blatche

The Washington Wizards are the S.S. Disaster, and Andray Blatche is their captain. It's time to change captains.

Not that we should lay all the blame for Washington's 1-9 start at Blatche's feet—there's been plenty of awful to go around. John Wall hasn't added any game to his foot speed, JaVale McGee continues to waste more athleticism per minute than any player in basketball and Rashard Lewis hates everything.

Problem is, Blatche has been miscast as the leader of this hapless group. If you know anything about Andray Blatche—a problem player of the highest order—you know that isn't his place.

The Wizards can't prosper in an arrangement where Blatche cracks the whip and Blatche would be better served in a support player role. He has enough game to interest other teams. In another environment he could do good things.

For the Wizards, however, an organization groping in the darkness for something positive, Blatche is the wrong player at the wrong time.

Steve Nash

Steve Nash is a heckuva nice guy, and it's killing the Phoenix Suns.

In a recent interview with ESPN's Mark Stein, Nash re-iterated that he will not demand a trade from the franchise that drafted him in 1996 and signed him as a free agent in 2004.

In return for his loyalty and in deference to his place in the organization, Phoenix refuses to swap Nash for prospects despite their no-mans-land position between decent and rock bottom.

Stein writes:

"Nash is adamant: He will not go to his bosses and ask to be traded. The Suns likewise haven't budged: They insist they will not trade Nash unless he comes to them and says he can't bear another day detached from relevance."

Consequently, mutual good feelings have gotten in the way of good business, with Nash letting a bad team whitewash his last chance at a title and the Suns suspending their rebuilding process in order to keep a favorite son happy.

The NBA, meanwhile, loses a star long admired the league over for his guile and, let's be honest here, whiteness.

Put Nash on a decent team and the intrigue meter blows a gasket. Keep him on the Suns, and everyone keeps smiling through the pain.

DeMarcus Cousins

Imagine this scenario:

It's the year 2020 and DeMarcus Cousins has morphed into a  superstar for the Sacramento Kings. He's limited turnovers, added new dimensions to his face-up game and, more importantly, become a model citizen.

He's been known to say things like, "I want to stay in Sacramento because my teammates need me," and "I'm here to support whatever plans management has for this team."

Cousins event went as far as to have the words "Sac Town For Life" tattooed across the small of his back.

Now I ask even the most optimistic Sacramento Kings fan:  Can you possibly imagine that scenario coming true?

Sacramento gave it a good shot, but there's no hope for a happy ending here—not when Cousins has punched a teammate, demanded a trade and forced a coach out of town all in his first two years with the team.

The Kings can attempt patch-up solutions to keep Cousins happy in the short-term—like hiring Keith Smart to babysit—but the future prognosis for this relationship is as grim as ever.

The time for a trade draws nigh. Cousins needs a place with more veteran structure to develop his game and the Kings need a franchise centerpiece they can trust.

Besides, the rest of us want to know how good this kid can be on a team with better players and more rules. Because we get the feeling he might be really, really good.

Deron Williams

None of the NBA superstars who changed teams over the past few years have made out worse than Deron Williams.

I know what you're thinking. "What about LeBron James?"

LeBron may be the most disliked player in American sports, but at least he's relevant, contending for a championship and regarded as a top player.

Williams, by comparison, got more press in the past year for his time with Besiktas than his time with the New Jersey Nets. New Jersey has smothered Deron Williams the superstar point guard, wrapped him in a cloak of perpetual losing and warped his basketball reputation.

Remember when Deron Williams v. Chris Paul was a viable debate?

Now it's a laugher, a landslide for Paul who has since moved on to more worthy adversaries like Derrick Rose.

That's bad for the Nets, Williams and the NBA.

The NBA wants two things out of the equation: for the Nets to bump the needle when they move to Brooklyn and for Williams to sell tickets.

Since it can't have both in the current predicament, it's better for everyone if Williams finds work elsewhere. That way the Nets can abandon their ill-conceived shortcut to success and gain some real traction while Williams rebuilds his reputation on a better team.

Short of Dwight Howard swooping in with his Superman cape in tow, the Nets-Williams marriage cannot endure.

It's time to let the experiment die and look for new beginnings.

Antawn Jamison

Antawn Jamison is having a solid year on a surprisingly mediocre Cleveland Cavaliers team. He's their best scorer and a positive veteran presence in a locker room short on experience.

And if the Cavs don't look more than two steps in front of them, keeping Antawn Jamison is their best move.

But look toward the future and it's clear to see that a 35-year-old with an expiring contract isn't part of the plans.

Trading Jamison would fulfill his long-stated wish to play on a contender, net the Cavs some nice pieces in return and open up run time for promising rookie forward Tristan Thompson.

Mo Williams

The good vibes in Clipper land aren't enough to satisfy Mo Williams . He'd rather have his sneakers on the court and the ball in his hands.

Stuck behind Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups on the L.A. bench, Williams' minutes are lower this year than they've been in any season since his rookie campaign. That's led to rumors about Williams' displeasure and stoked the Clippers' interest in moving him before the March trade deadline.

A break-up makes sense for both parties.

At 29 years old, Williams no-doubt sees himself as something more than the backup's backup on a decent team. The Clippers don't need three veteran point guards and could use the trade to build depth at shooting guard or on the wing.

Williams leaves, everyone wins. Long live the people's republic of Lob City.

Dwight Howard

At this point in the Dwight Howard saga, we're watching the last 30 minutes of a bad movie that is 30 minutes too long and painfully predictable.

Save a few minor details, we know how the film ends. Please Mr. Projectionist, have mercy and roll the credits.

Perhaps your one of those who can't get enough of the incessant Dwight Howard trade rumors. I, for one, have had enough. I've thought through all the possible permutations, considered how he might look in each of the NBA's 29 other uniforms. It's time to pull the trigger on this thing already.

Dwight Howard doesn't want to play basketball in Orlando anymore and every party involved—Howard, Orlando and the NBA writ large—is better off when Dwight Howard plays basketball in a place where he wants to play basketball.

Kevin Martin And/or Luis Scola

The Houston Rockets so wanted Pau Gasol that they parted with Kevin Martin and Luis Scola to get him.

They then un-parted with them when David Stern shot down the deal.

Not only does that make for uncomfortable bed fellows, it ensures that the Rockets remain a step outside the playoff picture. Time has proven that Martin and Scola aren't moving this franchise in the right direction.

Houston would be better off finding a post player to pair with breakout point guard Kyle Lowry. Martin and Scola would be better off on teams with stronger interior defense.

Though the divorce was called off the first time around, eventually these sorts of things end in separation.