Most awesome Pau Gasol art I've ever seen. |
It is recent news that Pau Gasol
has turned down the Lakers’ offer to stay and decided instead to go to the
Chicago Bulls. So, this is it then. It’s time to part ways, hence, I am compelled to write this brief tribute for one of my most favorite players that ever wore the purple and gold uniform.
Outside of winning championships,
my most exciting experience as a Laker fan was learning that the Lakers traded
for Pau Gasol during the 2007-08 NBA season.
I can still remember that moment and feeling when I went to Yahoo!
Sports’ NBA page and read the headline, “Lakers Acquire Spanish Treasure” or
something of that effect (can’t remember the exact words). My heart leaped. Then I read on to check out what the Lakers
had to give up to acquire Pau, and I was extremely astonished. I was expecting that Andrew Bynum or Lamar
Odom was part of the deal, but it was not so.
It was merely for Kwame Brown, a member of the Lakers’ roster so
terrible in basketball that even Laker fans themselves booed him, and some
other irrelevant pieces. Though one of
those “irrelevant” pieces was for the rights for Pau’s younger brother, Marc
Gasol, who turned out to be a legitimate All-Star, and at this point, a more
prized player than Pau, but back then, the trade really felt so ridiculously
one-sided to the Lakers’ advantage that I was completely stunned. It had been quite surreal. Stephen A. Smith’s legendary analysis of the
trade, wherein he hilariously destroyed Kwame Brown (“Kwa-meh Brown is a bona
fide scrub!”), only helped in making my elation during that time more memorable.
At that moment of Pau Gasol
becoming a Laker, it really felt to me that winning the championship again was
tangibly near. The Celtics would delay it from happening during that season, but the next year, in just his second
season as a Laker, Pau Gasol was instrumentalal in making it finally happen. And in the season after that, it happened
again, and winning that one against the Celtics made it even sweeter (Pau Gasol
was fantastic during that Finals). Those were glorious days for Lakerdom.
Shaquille O’Neal was definitely
the more dominant player, but Pau Gasol was the more suitable fit to partner
with Kobe Bryant. Kobe provided the
cunning and aggressiveness, while Pau provided the discretion and
level-headedness. They were able to quickly establish rapport with each other,
as this was apparent when merely half-a-season (Pau Gasol was traded midway the
season) of playing together, they were able to reach the Finals, and then, in
just their second year, they were able to win the championship. And, clearly, Kobe likes, appreciates, and
respects Pau much more than Shaq.
I found no other NBA player that can
play with the same kind of finesse and intellect that Kobe Bryant has except
for Pau Gasol. He probably equals Kobe
in terms of basketball IQ and richness of skills (but in a different context, of course).
His passing, pivot, and post moves were the best I’ve ever seen in a big
man of the 21st century NBA.
Pau Gasol was a graceful, fun
thing to watch. Besides Kobe, I have
enjoyed watching no other Laker except Pau.
I’m real sad to see him go. I prefer for him to re-sign with the Lakers,
and to retire as a Laker in the future, but I am not bitter regarding his
decision to leave. There is no reason
to. It was within his right to leave,
and during his seven seasons playing in purple and gold, he had done his duty
and had produced countless good memories for Lakerdom. I am grateful that the Lakers got to have a
player like him.
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