Chris Paul Trade: Will Lakers Rebound from Loss of Pau Gasol?
Amidst the buzz generated by Chris Paul descending upon Los Angeles, one thing became abundantly clear: The Lakers will sorely miss Pau Gasol.
That sentiment is not without a huge exception. The Lakers have rolled the dice, put a dollar in the slot machine arm and have all but decided to pick a card, any card.
Reports splashed all over the NBA landscape Thursday evening that one delicious rumor had become a reality. The Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and New Orleans have reportedly agreed upon a mega deal that will send Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets and Lamar Odom to the New Orleans Hornets.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports cited one source close to the discussions as stating, "It’s not finalized, but we’re close."
The obvious notion comes flooding to the forefront, right after the buzz felt by a Chris Paul signing passes. The era of the LA Towers is over. What is left is a new era that may falter or flourish depending on what happens next.
The Lakers lost Pau Gasol. That is a huge loss when you consider what he gives you on the low block in a scorer who works well with either hand and can pass as well as a guard.
Forget the soft talk, or the notion that he couldn't defend a tissue. Gasol is damn good and he will be missed. To a lesser extent, the Lakers will miss Lamar Odom and the depth that he brought off the bench.
The Lakers were a machine with all the talent they had on the post. Now, it's gone. The Lakers will now have to start the season with a conundrum facing head coach Mike Brown.
Either Metta World Peace will have to grow a few inches or Derrick Caracter will have to start. Consider that Andrew Bynum will be sidelined for the first five games and you can see that an 0-5 start is indeed possible.
The Lakers just lost two key cogs and gain one superstar in Chris Paul. There is only one way this team rebounds from the epic loss of Pau Gasol. Yup, Dwight Howard.
NBA writer Brett Pollakoff nails the only thing that makes the Lakers a title team with this tweet.
The Lakers now have two superstars with injuries right beside Kobe Bryant. The other is Andrew Bynum, who will have to hold his own down low and stay out of foul trouble, something he has never consistently shown to be able to do.
But if the Lakers get Howard, they are by far better off then they were on Wednesday. They have a stout center in the middle who is the best defender in the league and a beast on offense.
They also have the best backcourt in the league. As of right now, this trade stinks something awful as the Lakers lose far too much size and depth. But with Howard, the trade looks like a genius move that just assured a new dynasty in Los Angeles.
