Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss probably never thought their respectable, dexterous Spaniard would have the courage to step up and leave Hollywood.
There had been hundreds, thousands of trade rumors swirling through the Los Angeles Lakers’s organization regarding Pau Gasol … since 2011. It all struck reality when Chris Paul was sent to the Lakers for a total of one hour, and Gasol was supposed to be traveling to Houston to join the Rockets. It was a three-team trade with Paul’s Hornets as well, but it was split up before being finalized.
In an instant, Gasol was exposed to the world of a moveable asset. The reasoning behind multiple trade explorations was Gasol’s inevitable aging, the loss of aggression and athleticism, and the search for life after Kobe Bryant‘s era concludes.
As Bryant claims he’s heading into the shades of retirement after the 2015-16 season, Los Angeles will desperately need an option to build around. While the Lakers are famous for living in the moment and not “thinking ahead” as much as Philadelphia or Milwaukee, to suggest that Kupchak hasn’t been planning for the future should be illicit. They have been.
Paying Gasol a double digit salary — he was offered a two-year, $20 million-plus contract by the Lakers — would only buckle down more cash to the payroll.
Could we say the team was lucky that Gasol quickly rejected the offer, only to glide toward the Windy City and become the newest Chicago Bull?
In a sense, you certainly should. The flexibility in cap space during Summer 2015 will mirror what the Lakers had this offseason, and you should always throw your name in the pile of possibilities. Although Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki looked the other direction when Los Angeles would give them offers, the franchise is still banking on high-end free agents electing to join.
Gasol’s Unselfishness
Since transitioning into his role with the Lakers during the 2007-08 season, Gasol had to go from being the focal point in a Memphis offense to co-existing with the brightest star in the game (Bryant).
As the years progressed, and as seven years of experience grew into 12, the Spanish ace grew into a larger proponent of teamwork, selflessness, and unity. To this day, he’ll tell you it’s attributed to a couple of factors. The foremost would be his upbringing as an international player, and being raised in a culture that doesn’t think of basketball as an individual platform to show off your skills.
It’s not stereotyping or saying America is greedy and selfish, but take a look at how we envision the sport in our country.
The NBA has become a player’s league, and hard-nosed, traditional coaches aren’t changing that. They can try all they want and revert to their old-fashioned beliefs, but players in today’s society have greater egos than ever, and we’re seeing the acute desire for scoring rise more and more by the year.
None of it rests inside the body of Pau Gasol, however.
Raised in a country that encourages altruistic actions — especially in sports — Gasol has the genetic makeup that makes him a better teammate. He’s been molded into caring more about others than himself, and it’s proven to be the case on the court, as well.
Take away the fact that he came off as a sour-minded player during the Mike D’Antoni era. Any customary big man would be licensed to feel angry and upset if their style of play was neglected all season long. Gasol put up with it for two seasons, minus a nagging injury to his plantar fascia in 2012-13.
Throughout last year, with the Lakers’ lineup changing more frequently than American gas prices, Gasol had to take on a new challenge.
Faced with the pressures of being the franchise’s most dependable and talented player with Bryant sidelined, he was expected to lead the team in every facet. As it pertained to scoring (before getting hurt himself), being a leader, and exemplifying an ideal teammate, he didn’t fail.
Last season, D’Antoni had eight players that played over 50 games in the rotation. Of those eight, Gasol finished the year second in total passes per game (54.3). Only Kendall Marshall delivered more passes on average (63.0), and that’s not surprising since Marshall’s passing was the only thing he could do at an elite level.
Sticking strictly with the Lakers roster that was reliable, Gasol also placed second in Assist Percentage (18.4 percent), again behind only Marshall. Through the entire NBA — power forwards that played at least 60 games for their team — there was only 10 better players than Gasol in terms of Assist Ratio. Gasol’s 15.0 Assist Ratio was just slightly behind Tim Duncan, David West, and Kevin Love, and isn’t that the type of teammate guys want on the floor? Rave about Love’s horrible attitude all you want, he still played with a charitable demeanor on the court.
When Gasol was put in the same frontcourt as a dominant center (Dwight Howard), he still didn’t prove to be a selfish player.
Most European big men would love the idea of getting a wide-open, uncontested 15-foot jumper. In almost all cases, they would pull the trigger if they found themselves in that type of sweet spot. The same goes for Gasol, who became known through the Lakers’ title runs for being a mid-range, triangle offense weapon.
For the Spaniard, however, it’s always looking for the next pass, and searching for the open man. It even held true during the 2012-13 season, where he felt heavily disrespected:
When Gasol catches the ball, he has the option of pulling up for the free throw line jumper — which he always has with a soft touch — or lob it into Howard underneath the rim for the easier scorer. It’s all about teamwork for Gasol, and that didn’t change just because Phil Jackson left the franchise in 2011.
Patience is the other factor that goes hand in hand with his unselfish behavior.
Similar to his newest teammate in Chicago, Joakim Noah, Gasol can operate with the ball just as effectively from the perimeter as he can inside the paint. That, of course, is referring to his decision making and passing ability, not their shooting. Noah doesn’t have a consistent, pretty, or reliable jumper from beyond 18 feet, while Gasol was able to annihilate the FIBA competition with the shorter 3-point line.
It’s his craft and cohesion with making bounce passes through traffic, and always delivering the ball at the correct time. While Gasol’s Turnover Rate escalated to 10.5 last season — tying for 37th of power forwards — you can greatly attribute it to the Lakers’ harebrained pace, and how D’Antoni didn’t believe in running set plays. You could easily negate that aspect of it, and claim that Gasol was more careless with the ball since Kobe wasn’t around, but it wouldn’t take into account how clueless the offense was last season. Sure, they ran a pile of cuts and pick-and-rolls, but often times, Gasol was handed the ball late in the shot clock and asked to do something.
When Gasol could receive the ball at the top of the key, often trailing behind the offense to start the possession, he would be proficient in hitting the open cutter:
As it’s Nick Young above, it worked well when Gasol was used as a facilitator along the perimeter. Taking Kobe and Steve Nash out of the picture, Gasol’s passing made a huge difference for the Lakers last season. Behind Marshall and Steve Blake, Gasol had the third-most points created by assists — on a per game basis (8.0). That mark was significantly higher than Jordan Hill‘s and Chris Kaman‘s, the other two bigs that shared the wealth with Gasol.
The Shooting Touch
Isn’t it always common with these international 7-footers? Typically, they’re the most consistent, well-developed shooters from any range. Dirk nods his head yes, and even Andrea Bargnani considers that a true statement, since he just admires the long ball. He may not be as effective as he believes, but nonetheless, he’s fond of the outside game.
Gasol wasn’t brought to the Bulls to shoot from 20 feet or further. If that’s the type of innovation Tom Thibodeau wants out of his newest starting forward, so be it. But, he was brought there to eliminate the hassle of never having a go-to scenario in the post. Noah can’t be trusted by scoring with his back to the basket, and Carlos Boozer could be in the running for worst power forward to start for a 2014 playoff team.
Immediately, Gasol brings the pick-and-pop dimension to the Bulls — the one they hoped would revive with Boozer’s mid-range shooting. Boozer seemed to fall off in terms of being trusted in those situations last season.
With their respective teams in 2013-14, Gasol shot 43.7 percent from 3-10 feet from the basket, with Boozer only being 36.7 percent efficient from the same range. That’s a seven percentage advantage for Gasol, who took shots from that area at a far higher tendency. 34.1 percent of Gasol’s field goal attempts last season came from 3-10 feet, while it only accounted for 16.1 percent of Boozer’s looks.
Gasol was more efficient, despite taking shots at a higher frequency.
As it pertains to further out — 10-16 feet — Gasol shot 44.7 percent for the Lakers last season, while Boozer was limited to 37.7 percent. Crazy enough, that’s also eclipsing Boozer by seven percent, and Boozer was taking more attempts from that range than Gasol. The 44.7 percent for Gasol also became his best season from mid-range since the 2010-11 year (Jackson’s last year as coach), and it was his fourth-highest percentage of his career.
Keep in mind, Boozer was a stable 43-45 percent shooter from mid-range during his days in Utah and early years with the Bulls, but took a step back during his last two seasons (the ones without Derrick Rose).
As the Bulls are receiving Gasol’s efforts off pick-and-rolls with Rose and Kirk Hinrich, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are gaining Boozer’s ups and downs. How much is that said to affect both teams in their 2014-15 quest?
By receiving Boozer, the Lakers basically swapped power forwards, and they’re getting the lower end of the deal in terms of production. Based on Estimated Wins Added — which takes in all areas of a player’s season — Boozer’s 3.2 EWA was five wins lower than Gasol’s 8.2. When you consider that the Lakers’ 27-win total was massively lower than Chicago’s 48 last season, it makes a difference that you can barely fathom.
Financially, Hollywood is absolutely in the boat they wanted to sail in. They’re saving cash, and didn’t want to commit to a big man that would be 36 at the end of the proposed two-year deal.
In what they’ll be gaining on the court, it’s not as appreciable, not as fruitful, and not friendly when it comes to getting wins.
Bryant and Byron Scott will be wishing, all season long, that they had the classiest, most patient, and sedulous competitor at their power forward slot. Chicago has him under it’s wing now, and Pau Gasol can now smile during the playoffs.
**All statistical support credited to Basketball-Reference and NBA.com/Stats**