At that point, the Lakers had lost Andrew Bynum to injury, Kwame Brown was being booed out of Staples Center and they had lost five of their last seven games. It didn’t seem like they were going to find a way to make anything happen before the trade deadline, especially when they all their options were limited.
Yet they managed to pull off this trade, if you can call it that.
Afterwards, the whole world was left to watch greatness form as the Lakers shifted the entire power balance of the league, again.
They went on to reach the NBA Finals three times in a row, winning their last two trips and they are hoping to make it there again which is an achievement in its own right.
The Lakers were the last team to reach the NBA Finals four times in a row from 1982 to 1985 and it only seems fitting that they were also the last team to win three championships in a row from 2000 to 2002.
But in order to get to there again and in order to win the NBA Championship again, they need to remember what got them there.
Yes, Kobe Bryant is amazing and he is going to play in all his greatness come playoff time but Gasol is just as vital to the Lakers as Kobe. And when I say just as vital, I mean that if you take Gasol off the Lakers, they won’t have a chance at a championship.
You can’t deny his value, he is no second fiddle.
With that being said, the Lakers need to focus on Gasol in order to continue their dominance in the NBA and win their third consecutive championship.
Why Pau Gasol, you ask?
Well, I’m glad you asked, because I have three big reasons why.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
