advertisement
Section Sponsor
sapaws.com

Spurs still feeling Gasol deal

By Jeff McDonald - Express-News
Web Posted: 02/08/2010 12:00 CST
Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan (right) and the Spurs have struggled to get past the Los Angeles Lakers since Pau Gasol's arrival. EDWARD A. ORNELASeaornelas@express-news.net
 
LOS ANGELES — Two years and one week ago, Kobe Bryant received a present he will never forget.

A 7-foot Spaniard with floppy hair and a point guard's passing skills arrived on his doorstep in Los Angeles, all but gift-wrapped with a card that read, “From Memphis, with love.”

Pau Gasol, it turned out, was just what Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers needed to return to the NBA's pinnacle.

“If we could have designed a player to make us a contender, it would have been him,” Bryant said. “It was an absolutely perfect fit.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was understandably less enthralled with the events of Feb. 1, 2008. At the time, he called what Memphis did — swapping an All-Star to the Lakers for a collection of what at the time were seen as spare parts — “beyond comprehension.”

Popovich's stance on the deal has since softened — “I was just trying to be a wise-ass,” he said recently — but its impact on the Western Conference power structure has not.

“It changed the whole landscape in the West,” Popovich said.

Nowhere has that seismic shift been felt more violently than in San Antonio. Months after his arrival, the Gasol-infused Lakers crushed the Spurs' hopes of a championship repeat with a five-game shellacking in the 2008 Western Conference finals.

The Lakers have been the West's top dog ever since, last season winning their first NBA championship since Shaquille O'Neal, their last All-Star big man, skipped town.

As the Spurs return to Staples Center tonight, they are still coming to grips with how to contend with Gasol at the center of a potent Lakers lineup.

31 comment(s) on "Spurs still feeling Gasol deal"
You have 2000 characters remaining for your comment.
Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of mySA.com. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.
E. Bononcini4:59 PM
Maybe we SPURS should go after Marc Gasol...He trains with his brother during the summer and is getting better... Two brothers playing against each other in rival teams...lol
E. Bononcini4:58 PM
I would love the spurs to get Dirk Nowitski but so much rival between spurs and Mavs..Also , who would we trade for a player like dirk...give them all our draft picks and richardson. would be nice to go after Dwayne wade too since he is coming out of contract. he is defense and offense and all around stats... new line up Pg Tony Parker Sg Dwayne Wade Sf Manu Ginobolli Pf Dirk Nowitski C Tim Duncan / Dujuan Blair We would be able to take on the lakers, cavs,orlando, celtics,Nuggets and the world...Go spurs go Mavs wouldn't let Dirk go...not even for Kobe..they tried it last year...did you read about it...
View all comments
SA Cultura.com on Facebook

 

Twitter

 
 
 
 
 
food
  • Famous Latinas
    They are educators and generals. They are singers and artists. They inspire us, heal us, lead us and enrich us. They are Latinas.