Thread: Gasol sticking it to Memphis
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**thaKEAF** · 04-22-2008, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Wasn't an NBA team supposed to make us feel better about ourselves?

Wasn't it supposed to fill us with pride, put a spring in our steps?

Wasn't it supposed to help us get over our civic inferiority complex?
Former Grizzly Pau Gasol's stellar playoff play for the Lakers is making Memphis an NBA punch line over the deal that sent the forward to Los Angeles.

So how come I don't feel better after watching Pau Gasol go for 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists Sunday in Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets?

How come I don't feel better after hearing Kobe Bryant's explanation for the performance?

"This just ain't Memphis," said Bryant.

Oooof.

That hurt.

And, for the record, I don't feel even a little bit better now.

Memphis is an NBA laughingstock. Memphis is an NBA punch line.

Memphis is the "before" in Pau's before-and-after photos.

Memphis is the chump who dumped his girlfriend and then watched, stunned, as she married a Hollywood star and wound up strolling the red carpet with him at the Oscars.

It's humiliating, really. And it's not going to end soon.

The Lakers and Nuggets play again Wednesday night. Tune in to hear more uplifting talk about what a man can do once he escapes the Memphis city limits.

With this city's luck, the Lakers will make it to the NBA Finals. With this city's luck, Gasol will win the MVP trophy.

"Thank you very much!" he'll say. "This could never have happened in Memphis!"

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies will still be explaining why, really, the trade was a great move for the organization.

Which is garbage. Utter garbage. It's never a great move to essentially give away an asset.

Michael Heisley's last defenders -- yes, there still are a few -- will say, "But Memphians wanted to trade Pau."

This is true, too. Many Memphians had grown weary of the guy.

They wanted the Grizzlies to see what they could get for Gasol. They were intrigued when ESPN reported that the Phoenix Suns might be willing to make a deal involving Amare Stoudemire.

But Gasol for a handful of beads and cap space?

That's horrifying on every level. It's more horrifying now that Heisley has made it clear he's not interested in actually using the cap space to obtain another player.

"People ask me, 'Will we use the cap room?'" Heisley said. "I'm not going to use it just to use it."

Wrong answer, Mike. The right answer is: "Of course we'll use it. We'll use it to acquire a player who is every bit as good as Gasol. We might not do it this off-season, but we will certainly use it to build a winner in Memphis."

Fans need to know what they're getting back in a deal. They need to be able to point to whatever their team got and say, "This could work out for us."

Shane Battier was traded to the Houston Rockets. That hurt a little. But, hey, the Grizzlies got Rudy Gay in return. Fans said, "This could work out for us."

Can anyone honestly say that about the Gasol deal? Can anyone watch the guy going crazy for the Lakers and think it's better that the Grizzlies essentially gave him away?

And if the Grizzlies were determined to give Gasol away, did they have to give him to the team best positioned to make the Memphis franchise look dumb?

Grizzlies officials say now they expected Gasol to excel in Los Angeles. All the more reason they shouldn't have made the trade.

Every basket Gasol scores is a reminder that the Grizzlies are not in good hands. Every Lakers game is a nationally televised blow to civic morale.

"This just ain't Memphis," said Kobe Bryant.

Yeah, but this is.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...it-to-memphis/

Thoughts? I'll agree it was painful to watch Gasol look like a beast in his first playoff game with the Lakers, but really it's all about just getting over the deal. I was over it within a couple hours, but it seems like certain people are stuck on it. I feel like he had to be moved and even though I wish we would have got more in return, I realize that we can make some moves with what we got.

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Thread: Gasol sticking it to Memphis
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