a 5-8 year stretch??? do u honestly see KG playing w/those guys for that long a stretch? their window to win championships is right now.

Posted by TMS:

a 5-8 year stretch??? do u honestly see KG playing w/those guys for that long a stretch? their window to win championships is right now.

Well then we won't get a long enough sample to reach a conclusive, fair judgment. Same applies to Kobe. If he has a career ending injury after year 3 with Gasol and Bynum, then we won't have a large enough sample to reach a conclusive judgment. The size of the sample you need isn't dependent on the age of the player.

While I don't get Bonn's reasoning that an elite guard should definitely win a championship in 5-8 years if he has a very good frontcourt, I do agree that he has a great chance to compete for that championship. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will be contenders, if Gasol can remain the player he is and Bynum gets healthy and continues to improve.

I've come to learn that there are no guarantees for championships unless the Spurs are younger and healthy or if you have Michael Jordon, and to me, MJ is still superior to Kobe, and I can't stand either of them.

Posted by TMS:

i'd be shocked if Kobe were to play alongside Bynum & Gasol for that amount of years while all 3 remained healthy, especially Gasol.

I'd say you can form some preliminary judgments before about 5 years but nothing conclusive or permanent. However, the clock doesn't re-set every time you make a trade. If they trade Gasol or Bynum but still have a good support cast, Kobe's still on the clock just like any other player claimed to be the best in the league would be.

since when is 3 1st round picks & an expiring contract nothing? nothing is what the Grizzlies gave up in this trade... a player who would never be able to live up to that contract of his playing in MEM, & they gained the ability to build their team back up w/young talent & smart FA signings in the near future, something that the POR Blazers have done to extremely good results this past offseason.

[Edited by - TMS on 02-03-2008 10:57 AM]

we'll see how much Laker fans appreciate it when Gasol's on the IR w/another injury next season.

pau had 3 dnps prior to this trade. and maybe his best performance caught phil's eye on jan 13: 21 pts, 18rebs, 8 assist, and 4 blks.

the way i see it, grizzly fans will be the recpients of schelp trading

Posted by DarkKnicks:

Posted by TMS:

since when is 3 1st round picks & an expiring contract nothing? nothing is what the Grizzlies gave up in this trade... a player who would never be able to live up to that contract of his playing in MEM, & they gained the ability to build their team back up w/young talent & smart FA signings in the near future, something that the POR Blazers have done to extremely good results this past offseason.

[Edited by - TMS on 02-03-2008 10:57 AM]

Im ok with you disliking Gasol and thinking he is overpaid (which he is) or overrated, but he was THE GUY that led that team to 3 consecutive play-off appearances for the 1st time in the history of the franchise. You seem to be talking about Eddy Curry or Erik Dampier!

I didn't want to interject, but I agree. This seems to be irrational hate, for some odd reason.

Umm Gasol is not making max dollars that would be Jermaine O'Neal whose making 20 million who interestingly enough TMS at one time wanted on the Knicks.

Posted by TMS:

where did i say i disliked Gasol? i could give 2 sh!ts about the guy... i just think he's overrated... 18 & 8 players shouldn't be making max dollars, i'm sorry... he's just a notch above Zach in terms of talent in my eyes... both good players, but neither franchise calibre max guys, not even close... why even bring names like Curry & Dampier into this discussion? who's talking about those guys?

I just named them because I thought you were exagerating, thats it. No problem.
BTW, Gasol is closer to 19,9,3(apg) and 2(bpg) than just 18,8.

Posted by McK1:

Posted by TMS:

wow, u really wanna argue semantics here with me now? ok bitty, ur right & i was wrong... Gasol is not making max dollars... he's still overpaid tho, just like your homeboy Zach... better?

btw, i'll take JO over either one of those guys in a heartbeat

O'Neal is the very definition of overpaid and overrated.

He's a 15/7 PF (on 44% shooting) in his 12th season and he's aging very poorly. No way would I take him before Pau. JO will probably retire in about 2 seasons.