Kwame Brown-Pau Gasol Trade: Fallout Around the League

Rotoworld's take is that Darko Milicic, Hakim Warrick and Juan Carlos Navarro are all going to benefit from the Kwame Brown-Pau Gasol trade.

Here's the brief:

In a deal geared toward salary-cap relief, the Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly traded big man Pau Gasol to the Lakers for F/C Kwame Brown, G Javaris Crittenton and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010.

Gasol's name had not come up much lately in trade talks, but this is big news for the Lakers, as he can play center until Andrew Bynum returns from a knee injury, then slide over to power forward. Darko Milicic, Hakim Warrick and even Juan Carlos Navarro should all see a boost in fantasy value for Memphis with this news.

Gasol has missed three of his last four games with a back injury, but it must not be too serious if the Lakers were willing to trade for him. Although, getting rid of Kwame was probably intriguing to them, regardless of how Gasol's back is feeling. Brown's contract expires at the end of the season.

Who Benefits? An Analysis

Great analysis of who benefits in this trade by the FantasySportsExperience blog. He too thinking Darko and Warrick are going to be prime beneficiaries:

With their best player (not named Rudy Gay) Pau Gasol gone and word that Stromile Swift is on his way to New Jersey in a deal for Jason Collins, the Grizzlies are officially tanking.

The immediate beneficiaries of the Gasol trade will be youngsters Hakim Warrick and Darko Milicic who now stand in line for starter minutes at power forward and center respectively.

Kwame Brown should get around 25 minutes a night at center, but I wouldn't expect any significant contributions from him.

Hakim Warrick Consensus Big Gainer

The Gazette Fantasy Sports Blog opines that Hakim Warrick is going to benefit the most out of today's trade. That appears to be a consensus out there in blogland. Here's what they say:

Memphis' Hakim Warrick will be the player who I think benefits the most, not Brown or Darko Milicic. He shoots 50 percent from the field, 70 percent from the line and his rebounds and blocks should increase. He turns the ball over a lot, but he should be picked up ASAP in any fantasy league.

Lakers Fans...Rejoice

From a non-fantasy perspective, the Bleacher Report says that the trade could have a significant long-time impact on the Lakers—ie: superstars galore.

If the deal pans out for Los Angeles they have themselves two stars in Bryant and Gasol, complimented by pass-first forward Lamar Odom, all in their primes. Throw in the 20-year-old Andrew Bynum and the Lakers have a team built to contend for years to come.

Los Angeles—Now the Best Team in the NBA?

The SportsBeat is taking the impact of the trade a bit higher. According to this blog, the trade means that the Lakers could become a dynasty again.

The Lakers now find themselves with a great coach in Phil Jackson, a finisher in Kobe, a young star center in Andrew Bynum, and two tall, versatile forwards who can pass in Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol.

Throw in Derek Fisher starting at the point along with Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Chris Mihm, and Ronny Turiaf off the bench, and you’ve got the best roster in the NBA. Better than the Celtics, better than the Spurs, better than the Hornets, Suns, and Mavs.

Grizzlies Fans—Remove Sharp Objects from your House

McBlog doesn't seem happy with the news. In fact, he points out several reasons why Memphis has made a terrible decision:

What the hell are the Grizzlies doing? Weren’t there rumors of them getting the likes of Luol Deng last year for Gasol? Now they’re settling for this crap package? This trade accomplishes nothing for the Grizzlies for several reasons. (more)