TeamRicky wrote:Its bizarre that we are in a bidding war for a 35 year old. I would have preferred paying to get Marvin Williams, Dudley or Courtney Lee at slightly above the salaries they signed for.
I don't know, Ricky...I think it's a perfect fit for us. It's likely a 2-year deal while we have all this cap space and a young group of studs who could really use a vet on the court. And Gasol is coming off a great season: 22 PER, 16.5/11/4.1, defensive rating of 101 with 2 blocks per game. I'd love to see 2 elite passers on the court with KAT, Wig and Zach. And in 2 years when our stars are getting closer to their prime, we let him go at 37...or he sees a chance for a championship and he stays with a bargain contract.
Maybe if he ages like Duncan has, it will be a good signing. I just have a fresh image of a 35 year old Tayshaun looking like a shell of his former self so age has to be at least a minor concern. Don't get me wrong, I would be kind of intrigued by signing Gasol and he might be the best immediate impact player of the group, but I prefer looking down the road further to get a two way guy who could potentially be part of our team past two years. Neither are bad options to have.
All of this money thrown around and greediness is a little unsavory and disgusting to me. Anyone else? Aside from the Spurs, it's merely a collection of players jumping around the league looking for the most money and/or rings, with no real teams anymore. Big 3's and Danny Ainge wearing Durant Nike's to a meeting in the Hamptons.
TeamRicky wrote:Its bizarre that we are in a bidding war for a 35 year old. I would have preferred paying to get Marvin Williams, Dudley or Courtney Lee at slightly above the salaries they signed for.
I don't know, Ricky...I think it's a perfect fit for us. It's likely a 2-year deal while we have all this cap space and a young group of studs who could really use a vet on the court. And Gasol is coming off a great season: 22 PER, 16.5/11/4.1, defensive rating of 101 with 2 blocks per game. I'd love to see 2 elite passers on the court with KAT, Wig and Zach. And in 2 years when our stars are getting closer to their prime, we let him go at 37...or he sees a chance for a championship and he stays with a bargain contract.
Maybe if he ages like Duncan has, it will be a good signing. I just have a fresh image of a 35 year old Tayshaun looking like a shell of his former self.
It's interesting that you mention Duncan, Ricky, because I was just thinking the same thing. One reason Duncan has so much more left in the tank than KG at the same age is the efficiency he plays with. Duncan has always seemed to be effective while not exerting the manic movement KG shows on the court. Pau's playing style seems more like Duncan than KG to me...not as active on defense, but able to use his length to be effective on defense. I don't know, of course, but he certainly seemed to play last year like a guy who has a few more good years left in him.
I'm getting truly excited about this, because I can't see SA and GS getting rid of all the players they need to get rid of to fit Pau under the cap. I think it would be a foolish move for them to let so many players go who have been so instrumental in their success. I see Portland and Toronto as more viable competitors, although frankly I haven't examined their cap situations yet. Maybe they have the same issues.
Duncan and Gasol make sense for comparison as they both have always relied on elite skill vs. athletic ability. Prince is such an outlier in that comparison. with that said, I am more weary about a Gasol signing than most here.
Just read through 6 pages of this Pau speculation and nobody has mentioned what I thought of immediately after seeing the Wolves aggressively going after him. Could it be that one or two of our bigs are part of a potential Jimmy Butler deal? Makes some sense to me. Let's not kid ourselves, Pau would be coming here to start, then you would have G, Belly, and Aldrich left to fight for backup minutes. That's not to even mention what KG might bring if he plays. I still fully expect the Butler conversations to continue this summer centered around Dunn and whatever else we can use to entice the Bulls.
