A few things: 1) extremely low risk. Cheap veteran 2) leader 3) you wanted a big man coach here he is 4) always good when FA - however old or cheap with name recognition choose Portland
The league covers the cost of everything over a 2-year vet. http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q22 Only $1.5M is put on Blazers salary for this transaction... so it's closer to a ~$5M commitment.
Your last point is what makes this surprising. The move from all other angles obviously makes a lot of sense.
Gasol can still defend. His DBPM last year was above his career average as were his block percentages. High IQ players like that will always be in the right position and see the game better than others. That can make up for a lot of what he’s lost athletically. On a side note, it’s great to finally be able to root for Gasol. I used to hate rooting against him when he was with the Lakers. As most know, I love those euros, and to me Gasol is the best big to ever play in the NBA. Dirk was the better scorer, but Gasol did everything.
I think Gasol will play, but probably no more than 15 minutes. He’ll be good insurance whenever Whiteside gets in foul trouble, and fits very well with Dame as he’s excellent in the pick and roll/pop. Mentioned all over this thread, but Collins needs to take advantage of the opportunity he has learning from this damn legend. Gasol is the ideal guy for him to model his game after.
Zach is the only player on the current team that follows Gasol on IG. Means nothing, but I just thought it was interesting.
Maybe 10-15 but I agree with your point. I definitely prefer getting a vet who can be ready when needed. Not sure you can get more "vet" then him. The question I have is do we still use Zach as the primary back up while Nurk is out and have Pau play only when foul trouble occurs, or do we start Zach at PF and use Pau every game until Nurk gets back.
I'm all aboard the Pau train. He's supposed to be healthy and can help. Averaged almost 5 boards in 12 min last year. Career 37 percent from down town. I know he's 39 but i give zero shits. He can help
I think you have to use Zach as the primary backup. I would worry about Pau breaking down if we used him that much right off the bat.
Nobody going stop those guys and when you thought you stop it was because they had bad night. Yes Harkless play PG tough but still PG put up 28 on us. The key is try to contain them as you can but stop everyone around them.
