To refresh your memory, first it was Spurs coach Gregg Popovich who bashed the Pau Gasol trade, saying there should be a trade committee that must approve deals. Pretty much anyone who’s seen the Lakers play since Pau (long as you’re not a Lakers fan) has to be upset with Memphis for giving up Pau for nearly nothing. Count Nuggets coach George Karl as one still in disbelief over the trade, as he mentioned to ESPN in an interviewed aired during the Nuggets/Spurs game Friday night:
“I’m with Pop on the Gasol trade. [The Nuggets media relations director] told me about the trade, I said ‘the league can’t let that happen. There’s no way.’ That’s not going to happen. I swear, I said ‘there’s no way that’s happening.’ It was like a gift — Christmas come early. It was a surprise package underneath the tree.”
We’ve broke down some of the recent one-sided deals in the NBA back when Popovich made his comments, but at least some of those teams were getting back at least one useful player, as opposed to Memphis which really got nothing. So, the question must then be asked: is David Stern really using his power to pull these strings? Something tells me the answer is yes.
