'Pride of Los Angeles' Pau Gasol Key to Lakers' Success

PHOENIX -- For a recent interview, there was a request for the "pride of Spain.'' A Lakers official, though, quickly amended that Pau Gasol also is the "pride of Los Angeles.''

Indeed he is.

Let Kobe Bryant grab most of the headlines, but if the Lakers didn't have the forward from Barcelona they wouldn't be closing in on a third straight NBA Finals appearance, with the possibility of a second straight title.

There was some talk around the middle of this season that Gasol's trade from Memphis on Feb. 1, 2008 wasn't as much of a steal as had been originally believed. Gasol, bothered by hamstring problems, had gotten off to a slow start and the Grizzlies were playing well. Memphis had been helped by acquiring center Marc Gasol in the deal for his brother and by using some of money they cleared to acquire All-Star forward Zach Randolph.

Well, the Grizzlies fizzled in the second half after their 25-19 start, finishing 40-42. It's true Marc Gasol missed all of April due to a neck injury, but Randolph slowed down at the end of the season and certainly didn't help his standing when he recently was named in a probable cause affidavit as "a major marijuana supplier in Indianapolis.''

So the trade, in which Gasol went to the Lakers with a second-round pick for Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two first-round picks, is back to being a Brink's job.



Share But as far as the Lakers are concerned, what really matters is what has happened to them since the 7-footer showed up. When all is said and done, getting Gasol could go down as the third-most significant trade in Lakers history, following the 1975 acquisition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the 1996 deal for the draft rights for Bryant.

Wait. What about the Lakers getting Wilt Chamberlain in 1968?

Well, Chamberlain ended up winning only one title with the Lakers. Gasol, whose Lakers lead Phoenix 3-2 in the Western Conference finals entering Saturday night's Game 6 at US Airways Center, might pass Chamberlain in the next 2 ½ weeks.

An argument can be made Gasol this spring has been playing the best ball of his career. With the playoffs being the most important time of the season, Gasol has steadily increased his numbers in his three Lakers postseasons. He's gone from 16.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 2008 to 18.3 and 10.8 in 2009 to 20.7 and 11.1 so far in 2010.

"I feel happy by the way I've played the last couple of months and also throughout the playoffs,'' said Gasol, who averaged 24.2 points and 12.7 rebounds the last 10 games of the regular season to finish the campaign with averages of 18.3 and 11.3. "It's been consistent and productive. So I just want to keep it up.''

Gasol's play has been even more important for the Lakers considering the big guy next to him, center Andrew Bynum, has been limited due to a torn meniscus in his right knee.

"He's underrated,'' Bynum said of Gasol, the Rookie of the Year for the Grizzlies in 2001-02 who played his first 6 ½ seasons for them. "I don't know why. He was playing well in Memphis before coming here. But he didn't get a lot of exposure playing in Memphis. ... Now, he's over here with the bright lights.''

One would think that would result in Gasol, who has been named two straight years to the All-NBA third team, not being as underrated now. But he does play in the shadow of Bryant and the modest Gasol is hardly one to seek publicity. Heck, Lamar Odom does more commercials than Gasol.



But the Suns know all about how good Gasol is. Using a zone, they're not getting bent out of shape if Bryant is piling up all sorts of stats in the series (33.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists). But they're determined to try to stop Gasol, although he's still averaging 21.8 points in the series despite his rebounding having been cut to 7.2.

"He's had to take on a large role and fit into it,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Gasol in the postseason. "In Phoenix, at the end of the fourth game, I was encouraging him to find a way to the ball when he wasn't getting involved in the game. So there's pressure on him to perform and he knows that. And he willingly accepts that.

"(The Suns are) paying an awful lot of attention to him. He very rarely gets a lot of room or space to work with right now. And even on his rebounds, they're attacking. Guards are hitting him low, in the legs, and he's taking a lot of heat. But that's, in a way, an honor. It's a responsibility you have to the game when you play as well as he does.''

Gasol sure has meant plenty to the Lakers, and he doesn't turn 30 until July. With Gasol and Bryant, 31, both recently having signed contract extensions through 2013-14, the Lakers look to be in great shape for years to come. So why in the world would Jackson even consider coaching somewhere else?

And to think that before the Feb. 1, 2008, trade Bryant was barking about wanting to be traded unless the Lakers got him some help. And Gasol was with a Grizzlies outfit that went 22-60 in 2006-07 and would have that same record the next season, the last half of which he was able to escape.

"I would say luck for me was that I was traded to the Lakers rather than somewhere else,'' said Gasol, who, after playing so much ball in recent years, reiterated he likely won't play for defending champion Spain in this summer's World Championships in Turkey. "Obviously, it was great. I couldn't ask for anything else.''

Neither could Lakers fans. He is indeed also the "pride of Los Angeles.''

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