Any interest in Gasol?

Gasol will be a free agent this summer. Yeah, he will be 36 next year, but he averaged nearly 17-11 this year, his game is not based on athleticism, and he would take a pay cut to play for a contender ("only" made 7 million last year, so he could come at a bargain). Not sure the Celtics are contenders, but he might look at the east, see the chaos in Cleveland, and think the Celtics have a good shot at the ECF. I bet he also appreciates what Brad is doing, and he could be a good role model. Not really sure what I think, curious to hear what you all think.

BTW - I was referring to Pau, his brother would merit a separate discussion. ..

Shamrock1000 wrote:BTW - I was referring to Pau, his brother would merit a separate discussion. ..

Short answer NO too many miles on him even at a cheap price

beat

beat wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:BTW - I was referring to Pau, his brother would merit a separate discussion. ..

Short answer NO too many miles on him even at a cheap price

beat

That was my thought at 1st, but then I saw he only made 7 million last year, and would take a payout for the chance to play for a contender. Also, his numbers haven't really been diminishing, in fact they are better than when he was in LA. I know he's on the downslope, but if we could get a 7 footer who produces 15 and 10 for a couple of years at 5 or 6 million per year, I'd say that's a steal.

Any guy who can average 15 and10 would be the Cs best rebounder and third leading scorer on this year's team. Yes, he is older but those numbers and a $7 M salary would easily make Sullinger unnecessary for next season. Gasol also passes the ball much better than the Cs current big men from what I have seen of him.

He is a power forward and not a true center so one of those such guys will still be needed to help get Boston to become more competitive in the East.

Certainly worth looking into, but I am sure that Ainge looks into every possibly available player.

I've thought abut him as being an option also and even asked the same question you did here.

he certainly won't be the first Free agent that Danny goes after, but if we can't land one of the top Big men Gasol would be a nice option on a two year deal.

ranking the top FA big men for this year: (with my ideas on their cost)

1. D. Howard- someone will pay him ($25M or more)
2. A, Horford- ($25M per year)
3. H. Whiteside- despite his limitations he will get near max deal ($20M)
4. J. Noah- injuries and declining numbers will lower his price ( $15M)
5. P. Gasol- age is his only problem ($15M or more on a short term deal)
6. A. Jefferson- lots of miles on him now ( $12M or so)
7. Nene- another older player ($10-12M)
8. R. Hibbert- ($10M)
9. Z. Pachulia- ($ 8-10M)

Horford, Noah and Gasol could all be options next year, IMO.

I don't see any of the others as a real option for the Celtics.

of course there will always be the trade for Cousins rumors also.

kdp59 wrote:I've thought abut him as being an option also and even asked the same question you did here.

he certainly won't be the first Free agent that Danny goes after, but if we can't land one of the top Big men Gasol would be a nice option on a two year deal.

ranking the top FA big men  for this year: (with my ideas on their cost)

1. D. Howard- someone will pay him ($25M or more)
2. A, Horford- ($25M per year)
3. H. Whiteside- despite his limitations he will get near max deal ($20M)
4. J. Noah- injuries and declining numbers will lower his price ( $15M)
5. P. Gasol- age is his  only problem ($15M or more on a short term deal)
6. A. Jefferson- lots of miles on him now ( $12M or so)
7. Nene- another older player ($10-12M)
8. R. Hibbert- ($10M)
9. Z. Pachulia- ($ 8-10M)

Horford, Noah and Gasol could all be options next year, IMO.

I don't see any of the others as a real option for the Celtics.

of course there will always be the trade for Cousins rumors also.

I just spit up my coffee when I saw Hibbert's projected $10 million for averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds on 45% shooting. No thanks. 45% when you're 7'3"?

First of all, I can't see Hibbert making that money when he is one of, if not the, worst player on a the 2nd worst team in the NBA.  He isn't even an escapee from Jurassic Park, he's from Triassic Park (the Jurassic era began with the end of the Triassic, so Jurassic is more recent).  He is completely out of place in a pace-and-space system and that is the direction the entire league is going.  It's not just the Lakers with their dinosaur that isn't competing well, it's the Rockets with their dinosaur and Utah too.  Denver, with Nurkic, stinks.  Whiteside is coming off the bench now.  Look at the league and see which teams are considered elite and who have monster centers.  Maybe the Clippers, and even then, are they really elite?  GSW has Bogut, but he isn't a vital player.  Cleveland has Mozgov, but he isn't vital either.  In fact, he was benched and Thompson started at center.  At best, this is the era of the velociraptor, not the thunder lizard.

Getting back to Gasol, I would consider adding him, for say $5M, as a finishing piece.  He will be 36 in July and while he is still injury-free there will come a time when his body just won't want to do this anymore.  I'd also consider bringing him in if Danny gets a really young center who could use a good mentor.  So, for example, if Danny signs Whiteside then a calming uber-professional champion like Pau would be a good person to have the adjoining locker to him. If we make it to the 2nd round this year and if Danny can get us some more quality pieces that will get us to the EC Finals or even past that, or if Danny brings in even more youth (which he and Brad do not want to do) that needs mentoring.


bob


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I'd pay Gasol 15 million dollars for one year, even if he only plays 25-29 minutes a night.

We have a HUGE need for a big center for certain matchups, and this coming draft doesn't have any big guys who are ready to play 20+ minutes in the NBA.

The Celtics have a ton of cap space, and have to use it somehow. And just because guys like Gasol, Dirk, and Duncan take a lot less pay for their long-time team, doesn't mean that's all they're worth.

And from a team chemistry standpoint, it's better to pay Gasol 15 million than to pay a guy like Sully 12 million (one year deal). The other Celtics wouldn't be resentful of Gasol making that kind of money, but how do you think Crowder, IT, and Bradley are going to feel if Sully (or some other second rate big) is making almost twice their salary?

And if the Celtics are unable to sign a big free agent, it's almost a guarantee they're going to overpay some second rate big out of desperation.

This time of year every team and their fans assume that they'll be signing a big name free agent, but 70-80% of those teams end up missing out. And I think Gasol is more valuable to the Celtics than Al Horford, because we have other quality PFs and PF/C hybrids already, and there are guys like that in the draft (Poeltl, Sabonis, Bender).

How many games have we lost the last couple years because we simply didn't have a true center to play 20-25 minutes against another team's true center. We lost to the NETS, TWICE in large part because we had no answer for Lopez. That's worth overpaying for, if overpaying is the only way to get one.

and if we added Gasol who goes?

As it is our roster is loaded with players and we have more than enough draft picks to upgrade.

Gasol is 36 years old and I see no good reason to add him to the team.  The chance that he goes to IR increases every second and before i finish this post that chance increases even more.

It seems to me that we continue to lose focus on what this teams lacks.

We need shooters and we need a center that can protect the rim and rebound the damn ball.

Gasol is no rim protector so he cannot really help us get better.  

If the Celtics are going to have to sign a max contract free agent or trade for one a big chunk of cash will be invested there so why waste a dime on an over the hill injury prone center that has never played in a pace and space offense?


Oops, I just got a text.  It seems that Gasol has been diagnosed with ole folks syndrome.

dboss

well remember EVERY team will have a boatload of cap space next year.

so yeah, Hibbert SHOULD get maybe $5M tops, but it'll be more because of all the extra money around.

Regarding the bigs listed, Whiteside would be my target.

Dboss

"If the Celtics are going to have to sign a max contract free agent or trade for one"

Like I said, that's a big if, and 80% of the teams with space for one will be left out in the cold, fighting over guys like Gasol.

I hate snippets.

Fighting over Gasol? Really?...Name some team that you think are interested in a Gasol rental.

Dboss

dboss wrote:Regarding the bigs listed, Whiteside would be my target.

Dboss

I second that motion!!

Whiteside doesn't move outside much on the defensive end, so Brad will have to change his defensive style with him here.