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Breaking News: The Lakers get Pau Gasol from Memphis
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Fulfilling the Memphis Grizzlies' desire for salary cap relief, the Lakers have acquired forward-center Pau Gasol and a second round draft pick in 2010 from the Memphis Grizzlies for center Kwame Brown, guard Javaris Crittenton, the unofficially retired Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Pau Gasol's brother Marc and a two first round draft picks in 2008 and 2010. It is believed that the Lakers would need to arrange a sign-and-trade for McKie to make the salary cap math work for the deal. McKie is not currently playing in the NBA but his rights are owned by the Lakers. Gasol is averaging 18.9 points and 8.8 rebounds this season for the Grizzlies. He has expressed discontent in the past year with the Grizzlies who haven't made the playoffs since 2006 and have never won a playoff game since he was drafted in 2001.
Gasol would fill in at center until Andrew Bynum returns from a knee injury sometime in March. Gasol could then slide over to power forward when Bynum returns. This is a good deal by the Lakers. With Bynum out and Kwame not getting the job done, Gasol can come in and do what he's been doing in Memphis. This will be a chance for Gasol to earn a ring in Los Angeles because most likely, he wouldn't earn it in Memphis. And when Bynum returns, this will give the Lakers a whole new look. With Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Pao Gasol, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom, they will have turned into a dangerous team.
As for Memphis, Kwame might do better there, who knows? He has been failing to live up to his expectations as a Laker, and maybe he'll live up to them in Memphis where they are rebuilding. Javaris Crittenton is a decent rookie out of Georgia Tech. Memphis is getting a point guard with lots of potential and lots of skill. He scored a career high, 19 points earlier this season in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers on January 4th. Other than that, he just averages 3.3 points a game in about 8 minutes.
This is still a plus for Memphis in the long-run, because they now have a chance to rebuild their franchise with the two first round picks. These picks will come in 2008 and in 2010. And with the rookie Crittenton, and the sophmore star in Rudy Gay, the future for Memphis looks bright. Javaris may end up getting a little bit more playing time in Memphis, and he may be able to reach his full potential as a Grizzly. As for now, Memphis sits at a 13-33 and they're looking to go absolutely nowhere. So the rebuilding era for them begins now.
It is also reported that the Grizzlies are trading Stromile Swift to the New Jersey Nets for center Jason Collins. The Grizzlies and Nets have been discussing that deal for the past week and expect to finalize it on Monday, according to reports.
