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Imagine Gasol alongside one or the other and then add Rudy G, Mike Miller (not exactly a lock to remain in Memphis past Thursday), Hakim Warrick, Alexander Johnson, Lawrence Roberts and largely forgotten (special rookie) Kyle Lowry, out forever with a broken left hand.
Let's not get carried away here, either. If the supporting cast were so solid, Memphis wouldn't be such a piss poor team. I like a few of those guys, but the rest of them are no more special than your average NBA bench. Rudy G has a chance to be good, I'll give you that one. Mike Miller? 6th man. He's not a dominant NBA shooting guard. Hakim Warrick is a high flyer that doesn't rebound. It's not that he has a bad attitude or anything; he just happens to have less muscle mass than George Ofman. Johnson was a nice 2nd round pickup for them (most expected he would get picked in round 1). He and Lawrence Roberts do a pretty solid job on the glass, but neither player has what you would call a big upside. They are Chris Duhons at the PF position: a pleasant surprise, but still, you're not foolish yourself. Kyle Lowry, I like him a lot actually, but don't crap me - there were several PGs drafted ahead of him last June, and a few more bunched up right behind him. He's got talent, but it's no shoe-in that he's the floor leader on a playoff caliber team.
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"Trade Pau now and then what?" wondered a Grizzlies executive before answering his own question. "We'll wind up spending the next 10 years trying to replace him."
What the hell is this "we" shit? All of these guys are out on their asses once the team gets sold. Jerry West has already put his house on the market. If the GM gets canned, why would they keep his assistants around?
And for the record, Vescey is the same guy who, 30 days ago, wrote that Gasol was a goner. In fact, he said "I put this out there with utter certainty." Now, suddenly, Memphis has no interest in moving him? Sounds to me like Vecsey is serving as a mouthpiece for his old pal Jerry West. Again, 55 hours to deadline, don't believe a word you hear.
Vescey is about as right on trades as Sam Smith is, and way more arrogant...but the trade rumors are good discussion.