POW and The Superman

If anything can bring me back, its some ridiculous deals in the NBA. Luckily for me, we have two. Before I ramble on, I think its worth noting how rare this is. When was the last time two legitimately franchise changing players were traded within a week of one another? Same thing can be said about the ridiculous Western Conference this year that has precipitated these moves. The tenth best team in the West has a notably better record and is notably better than the fourth best team in the East. TENTH. Its going to be remarkable and sad to see two more than capable teams missing out, but I digress.

The Pau Gasol trade is what i would call a double addition trade. The first addition comes from the fact that Pau is a world class player, the leader of one of the best national teams, as well being a solid 18 and 8 player. He was the franchise player in Memphis and landed in Los Angeles which possesses the Mamba as the franchise player. Furthermore, when healthy, Andrew Bynum also has the potential to be a #2 option, thus taking even more pressure away from Pau. Then, we must note that the lakers are getting a boost by the simple subtraction of Kwame Brown. The much maligned Brown could be counted on dropping a few passes and missing a few layups per game. No wonder the Lakers looked much better in the game w/o him and before Pau arrived.
Since Pau has arrived, many things could be noted about the Lakers game. (Hey, Im writing this in an insanely boring class so lay off my diction) First, Pau can draw fouls. I don't think many anticipated this but this aspect of his game, the quick first step he has, and his ability to utilize a variety of shots and moves creates trouble for the opposition. Next, Pau's length allows him to finish, in a way Kwame Brown probably could not even fathom. However, Pau's interior D is questionable, although the return of Trevor Ariza (seemingly forgotten to most of the major bloggers) and 'Drew (as Kobe calls him) should help.

The other major trade, the BIG fella going to the run run run run run Suns is much more interesting. Does Shaq have enough left? Who knows. However, what is known is that Shaq's defense had been declining rapidly and it seems unreasonable to look at him as a defensive and rebounding specialist as the Suns want him to be. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets in foul trouble quickly. shaq's fouls per minute has reached the highest point of his career. (It is worth noting that Mark Blount is playing better than Shaq was at the center position. On the bright side, Pheonix does get a piece to contend with in playoff time once the run run run style fails. Only time will tell what this means for the Suns, but the simple thought that they did this to react to something done by the lakers makes me, as a laker fan, happy.