Player trades can sometimes mark the history of a franchise, for good or bad. A former colossus of the prosecution has designated the one who was the worst of all, according to him… However, his opinion is not likely to be unanimous, the deal notably concerning the Lakers.
Setting up a trade is always a delicate business, and many leaders have made (very) bad choices in this area. Not easy therefore to determine which deal was the worst of all, but Kendrick Perkins already has a candidate to submit. The former pivot indeed turns his gaze on the side of Los Angeles and Memphis, with an agreement dating back to 2008 concerning a certain international superstar:
The worst Trade in NBA history is Paul Gasol and a 2nd rounder for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and the rights to a baby Marc Gasol. It changed the fate of the Lakers and you know what it did for Memphis. Carry on… https://t.co/J222wcmVsU
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 22, 2022
Kendrick Perkins guns down Pau Gasol‘s trade to the Lakers
The worst trade in NBA history is that of Pau Gasol + a second round draft to the Lakers in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and the rights to Marc Gasol. It changed the fate of the Lakers and you know what it did for Memphis after that…
Leaving Tennessee at the trade deadline, the deal around the Spanish interior had indeed shocked the basketball planet at the time. Indeed, remember that Pau was already All-Star at that time, while Brown is considered one of the biggest busts in history. Crittenton is now in prison for murder, while Marc, brother of the double champion, was still playing in the country on the side of Barcelona. And nothing indicated that he was going to become a star, while still dragging a reputation of being obese.
Nevertheless, almost 15 years later, to consider this trade as crap seems quite exaggerated on the part of the former colossus. In fact, we can even speak of a win-win for the two franchises. On the one hand, the arrival of Gasol in the City of Angels allowed the Lakers to achieve a back-to-back, the first titles since the departure of Shaquille O’Neal. The Iberian international has established himself as the first mate of Kobe Bryantproving essential during the 2009 and 2010 Finals.
On the other, Marc had the effect of a bomb in Memphis, becoming in a short time one of the best players in the history of the franchise. If the Grizzlies have never done better than a conference final, the “Grit & Grind” team of the early 2010s was led by the racket he formed with Zach Randolph. It’s only a matter of time before the 2019 champion with Toronto sees his jersey removed from the ceiling of the FedEx Forum.
Kendrick Perkins is seriously overwhelmed on this blow, only taking into account the very short-term feelings about Paul Gaso’s tradeI. We know fans from Tennessee who have a completely different discourse on this subject…
