Kobe Bryant still has Pau Gasol’s back.
What Kobe is protecting him from, I have no idea.
But he’s ready to argue on a whim.
From Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com:
Kobe: Lakers fans 'didn't really appreciate' Pau Gasol, who dealt w/ constant trade rumors: https://t.co/HjOJADzUhE pic.twitter.com/dVCkA7wzYj
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 27, 2016
Weird. Very weird.
It’s doubly, if infinitely weird that he roped Mike D’Antoni into it. Like…what?
Gasol was never viewed in the same vein as Shaquille O’Neal, and trade rumors most definitely followed him at nearly every turn, especially as his time in Los Angeles came to a close. But that arguably only started because the Los Angeles Lakers tried trading him to the then-New Orleans Hornets in a deal that would have netted them Chris Paul. From there, after then-commissioner David Stern nixed the trades, the Lakers scrambled trying to assemble an immediate contender so they could capitalize on Bryant’s twilight.
That attempt failed miserably. They acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, neither of whom worked out; Howard left in free agency after one season, and Nash’s body devolved into unplayable. So with the team being thrust into rebuilding mode, a 30-something Gasol was of course mentioned in trade rumors. He didn’t belong; he could have helped a contender, and the Lakers weren’t a contender.
And it’s not like Gasol is Bryant. Trading him wouldn’t have been a sacrosanct basketball play. And that doesn’t in turn mean the Lakers or their fanbase viewed Gasol as an afterthought or trade fodder. He helped them win two championships, and he was arguably better than Kobe during each of those runs.
Here, then, is to Kobe still having Gasol’s back, even if it’s to fighting a battle that, really, doesn’t seem to exist.
