Looks Like Pau Gasol Will be Joining Kobe for More Championships

Looks Like Pau Gasol Will be Joining Kobe for More Championships

Pau Gasol was once in a trade for Kwame Brown, yeah that Kwame Brown.  And his own brother Marc!  He now is a NBA Champion and part of a possible dynasty for the Lakers. Gasol has been with the Lakers since February 2008 and since he joined the Lake Show he has became one of the best all around players in the NBA. He was good in Memphis but no one really knew about him. Coming to LA will make people see you on a nightly basis quick. He recently signed a three-year extension that will keep him under contract with the Lakers through. He is only 29 years old and the nucleus around the Lakers are either in their prime or young and very productive. It also helps to have Kobe Bryant as the team leader. The Lakers have the NBA’s best record so far this season at 23-4 and Gasol said Bryant is expected to finalize a contract extension soon as well to secure the team’s star playmaker and big man for years to come.

It wasn’t long ago that Kobe was in a parking lot complaining about Andrew Bynum and asking for a trade to get out of LA. Now the Lakers have turned themselves into perennial title contenders year in and year out.  Gasol was the missing piece though and its debatable that without the Spaniard, there would be no title back in LA. Whatever the case may be, the Lakers are back at the top, which makes the NBA better, and the power in the west has gone back to the city of angels. Its led by the Black Mamba and the Shifty Spaniard. Pau Gasol joins Petros and Money on KLAC in Los Angeles to talk about his new contract, his early years in Memphis, his hero status in Spain, and his good eye for his fancy wardrobe.

Asked if he even remembers his time in Memphis after a two appearances in the Finals in LA and one title:

“It feels a lot longer then it actually has been to be honest with you. I guess because of the intensity, the time that I have been here, and so many good things have happened. Even though we lost a final, but I think it was a learning experience and a positive experience in order for us to come back the next year, redeem ourselves and get that championship.  It’s been great and I can look forward to more great things. I think we have a great team, a great foundation, and a team that is making the right moves for us to succeed.”

Asked about the possibility of complacency when you win so much as the Lakers have:

“Winning doesn’t get old, I can tell you that. You do get used it to and then you can’t fall into the trap of relaxing and thinking you are going to win because most of the time you do. Then a team comes and they are ready to play and they can surprise you. Something that we are probably going to have to face all year long is the quality of our team, the strength of our players, and we are going to have to focus and make an effort mentally. Especially to be able to bring the intensity required to win every single ball game.”

Asked if he can help out his former coach Kurt Rambis and get Ricky Rubio to play in the NBA:

“I think he will come, he is still going to play this year and next year in Spain. So he will come after that I think. I think he wants to play in the NBA; he wants to succeed at this level and prove himself. He is very ambitious; he is a guy with a very unique talent to play this game. So I think he will definitely make a difference when he actually gets to play in Minnesota, so that will be a good thing. I think Kurt will be fine; they have a nice group of players there. They gave us a lot of problems the last game they were here and they are going to improve.”