Gasol Calls Kaman's Remarks 'Unfortunate'

DALLAS -- Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman saw each other in the elevator Friday at All-Star Weekend. They greeted and wished each other the best for Sunday's All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium.

After all, they are teammates. At least they are this weekend.

But last month Kaman, a Clippers center, might have added fuel to the Los Angeles rivalry when he told FanHouse he didn't believe Gasol, a Lakers forward-center, wasn't worthy of being named to the All-Star Game due to having missed 17 games in the season's first three months. Kaman also said he believed he had better statistics than Gasol, saying he'd be "disappointed if they put Pau Gasol in front of me'' on the West team.

As it turned out, Gasol was named a reserve by the coaches and Kaman was left out. But Kaman later was added as an injury replacement.

Gasol on Saturday called Kaman's remarks "unfortunate.'' But he called the matter closed, and said he doesn't need to discuss it with Kaman.

"Circumstances. Coincidence,'' Gasol, in his third All-Star Game, said of Kaman having been added to his first. "Things happen that way, and I'm happy to be here. I'm happy that everybody else is here. That is what it is. It's pretty ironic how things turn out in life.

From Jan. 22: "I don't think Gasol should be in it at all. He's only played like 20 games this year. I think there should be a number of games you should play. I think you should have to play like 80 percent of the games.

"It shouldn't be 50 percent over a guy who plays 90 percent and who has better numbers. Not just me. Zach Randolph, a power forward, he has better numbers (than Gasol). But he's not on the Lakers."
-- Chris Kaman "I think it was an unfortunate comment on (Kaman's) part. I think he realized afterward that he kind of made some remarks after the All-Stars were named, saying that, 'I (Kaman) really belong here and I deserve to be here.' But nobody commented on it. They want to talk about the other things. We all make unfortunate comments sometime. What he said might have been right but that's not on him to decide or make that call.''

Kaman's comments were made after All-Star starters had been named and reserves not yet selected. Although he singled Gasol out, Kaman said Saturday he meant no disrespect.

"I didn't mean nothing by it,'' Kaman said. "I'm not malicious. I just felt like in a situation where you don't get a lot of minutes with any guy in the league, it's tough. It's tough for a guy out there working like Zach Randolph (of Memphis, who was named an All-Star reserve and hasn't missed any games this season).''

Kaman on Saturday called Gasol an "All-Star'' and a "great player,'' and emphasized he had been primarily discussing his lack of games played rather than his ability as a player. Still, Kaman did not back down from having previously said his statistics would have him made a better initial selection than Gasol.

"If you go by my numbers, yeah,'' said Kaman, averaging 20.0 points and 8.9 rebounds to 17.2 and 11.2 for Gasol. "But (those who felt otherwise) proved (their) point with how it turned out. I just felt that I worked extra hard this summer, and put in a lot of time.''

For now, Gasol and Kaman aren't expected to have any friction as All-Star teammates. But stay tuned to see if the Lakers-Clippers rivalry, which resumes April 14, has an extra element.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson