Pau Makes Lakers Title Contenders

Amazing what a difference 7 months can make. This summer, the biggest story dominating the NBA offseason headlines was Kobe Bryant's displeasure with the Los Angeles Lakers. The star shooting guard went as far as to demand a trade to a contending team. After a couple failed attempts (one notable rumor involving the Bulls which fell through), it appeared that Kobe would at least have to start the season with the only franchise he's ever suited up for. That said, it promised to be a huge distraction for a young team. How could it not be? Their leader had essentially thrown them under the bus by saying he was sick of being with a team that couldn't compete. Yesterday, the Lakers made a huge trade. However, it wasn't involving Kobe. The Lakers completed a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire 7 foot Spaniard Pau Gasol (to date: averaging 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on 50.1% shooting) for Aaron McKie's contract, youngster Javaris Crittenton, Kwame Brown, the draft rights to his brother Marc Gasol, and 1st round picks in 2008 and 2010.

The Lakers gave up a lot of bodies and some first rounders, but they became a lot better overnight. Kwame Brown is a former first overall pick (Michael Jordon's mistake there) and has never shown anything beyond being a big body to defend the post off the bench, Aaron McKie is a contract who likely won't play a second this season (or beyond), Javaris Crittenton is a young player with some upside but had seen his playing time reduced drastically, Marc Gasol is a prospect who from all reports got the shallow end of the gene pool and likely would not have been a contributer for the Lakers in the foreseeable future, and those draft picks will likely be bottom 10 picks. By adding Gasol to an already deep lineup, the Lakers could be scary good if Andrew Bynum (13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game on 63.6% shooting) comes back strong. So how did the Lakers go from counting the days until Kobe Bryant is dealt to making a blockbuster trade to help Kobe get the Lakers back to the finals?

After a fairly mediocre 9-8 start, the Lakers caught fire and went on a 17-3 tear that raised their record to 26-11. Firmly entrenched as one of the upper echelon teams in a loaded Western Conference. What's ironic is that one of the teams Kobe wanted to go to, the Chicago Bulls, have struggled to get any consistency this season. Was it just Kobe Bryant playing great basketball? Not really, Kobe was still putting up the superstar numbers we've grown accustomed to (to date: averaging 28.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game on 45.7% shooting). These are similar numbers that he'd put up when the Lakers were hopelessly mediocre and doomed to be eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the difference is the supporting cast.

While Lamar Odom has been once again playing the role of over matched #2 scorer, former high school lottery pick Andrew Bynum took an enormous leap forward until his season was derailed by a knee injury (he's hoping to return sometime in March). The efforts of Kobe were also being supplemented by the return of veteran Derek Fisher, and the development of youngsters Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf as well as a pretty deep bench in addition to those players. So while Kobe Bryant has still dominated their headlines (and rightfully so), you have to acknowledge the development of the supporting cast. Add a proven scorer like Gasol without having to touch those players and you have a team that can go deep in the playoffs, even with a slew of quality teams in the Western Conference.

While toiling in anonymity in his time with the Grizzlies, Gasol has quietly developed into one of the better front court players in the NBA. While not an ideal center due to his lack of strength against some of the NBA's big boys, he is a tough matchup because of his versatility. He can put the ball on the floor, shoot from the perimeter, and find open teammates for easy buckets (something that will come into play more in LA who has more finishers). Should Bynum be able to come back and play as effectively as he had been all year, the Lakers could be the favorites to win the Western Conference. A playoff series win would be a first step as the Kobe Bryant show has failed to win one ever since Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Before this trade, Los Angeles was already a top 10 team offensively and defensively (don't let the 101.5 points allowed per game fool you, they play the 5th fastest pace in the NBA and are 8th in defensive efficiency).

This trade gives the Lakers another body to man the post and takes pressure off Lamar Odom to not have to be Robin to Kobe Bryant's Batman. In the span of 7 months, the Lakers have gone from a team Kobe Bryant wanted to leave for a title contender to a team that is, well, a title contender. Talk about the Suns, Mavericks, and defending champion Spurs all you want (and with good reason), but the Lakers have just bought themselves a place in the same sentence when talking about the West's elite.