Would the Lakers trade Gasol to a foe?
By Jose Grijalva, Project Spurs
Pau Gasol has been a great fit so far in Mike D'Antoni's Lakers' "Run-N-Gun Lite" (since Steve Nash isn't running things) version of his old Phoenix Suns offense from years ago. You can understand Gasol's frustration with that system since it's a purely offensive heavy system with that side of the ball presenting an overwhelming advantage for D'Antoni's team while not really caring about the defensive liability it could cause. When D'Antoni began his official stint in Phoenix during the 2004-2005 season (not counting the 2003-2004 season when he took over for a departing Frank Johnson), he adopted a system of having Steve Nash run the ball down the court and scoring in seven seconds or less while giving him a cast of two 3 point shooting guards in the shooting guard and small forward positions while sliding his small forward as power forward and his power forward to center. It made his teams more athletic and gave Nash and his big man, Amar'e Stoudemire, an advantage of a wide open paint in a pick and roll scenario because of the high percentage 3 point shooters around them. Even when Stoudemire got hurt the following year, he inserted a versatile forward into Amar'e's position with his athleticism and passing skills. With the comparisons of those teams and what the Lakers have (even with a healthy Steve Nash running the show), you can see how those teams are vastly different from this Lakers team (and you can also see why D'Antoni prefers Antawn Jamison in situations over Gasol: he can shoot 3 pointers).
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