Let the countdown till Pau is traded begin.
D'Antoni's system features an extremely ball-dominant PG, speed and quickness at every position, and high-level 3-point shooting at positions 1-4 (if not 1-5).
He just took over a roster that's a pathetic 33% from 3 for the 2nd year in a row and features two of the slowest players at their positions in the NBA (MWP at 3 and Pau at the 4).
Either the roster changes, or the coaching will (again).
Pau for Josh Smith?
If that happens, we should try hard to be a 3rd team in the trade and get Pau to Boston. He'd solve our biggest issues.
What is the motivation for Atlanta? Aren't they in rebuild mode? What would they want from us for basically Josh Smith? Lakers don't have picks or prospects to add to a deal. We would likely need a fourth team. For salaries it would need to be like Green, Bass/Lee, and young players like Bradley, Fab Melo, and Sullinger.
However assuming we don't give up the big three or Jet then Pau, KG, Pierce, Jet, and Rondo is absolutely deadly.
Atlanta isn't in rebuild mode. They are trying to reload on the fly, and Gasol is about as perfect a fit of a player next to Horford as their is in this league.
Now, Gasol has fallen off a bit, but he still seems to have enough in the tank to give them another couple years of All-Star caliber play.
But here is the key for Atlanta. Do they still think there is a chance they can get Howard and Paul this summer? If so, they don't do it. If they decide thats not happening, I don't think there is any better deal for Smith out there.
A frontcourt of Horford and Gasol would put them in the running in the East for at least the next 2 seasons.
LA Trades: Pau Gasol
LA Receives: Ersan Ilyasova, M Dunleavy, D. Cook, C. Aldrich, T. Douglas, G Smith, Houston 1st
Milwaukee Trades: Ersan Ilyasova
Milwaukee Receives: Royce White, Terrance Jones, Marcus Morris, Donatas Motiejunas
Houston Trades: White, Jones, Cook, Aldrich, Douglas, G Smith, Morris, Motiejunas, 1st
Houston Receives: Pau Gasol
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=a59qrlb