Pau Gasol is a professional basketball player in the NBA. He plays for the Lakers and he has two more years on a guaranteed contract that will pay him $19 million per year. It appears that he has been upset and moping since there are rumors that he may be traded to another team. While this trade may be an inconvenience, his salary will not change. So, he will not get any sympathy from the many fans that have lost both their jobs and their salaries.
Gasol is a very skilled and dependable athlete. However, it seems to me that he has not dedicated himself to being nearly as good as he could be. He is the puniest NBA athlete that I have ever seen. In addition to their basketball skills, NBA players must have considerable body strength and stamina.
Gasol is always the weakest one on the floor. He is such a nice man that apparently no one has ever required him to go to a gymnasium and lift some weights. He could probably make a deal with the Lakers, by adding 2 or 3 pounds of muscle, in return for not being traded.
The Lakers do have problems. They were blindsided by NBA Commissioner David Stern, who voided a trade that they had made with the New Orleans Hornets. No previous trade had ever been voided, and there was no reason to believe that this one would be. However, Mr. Stern, for reasons known only to him, did not allow the trade that would have delivered Chris Paul through the Lakers, who would give up both Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. So, now the teams are standing around waiting for the other shoe to drop, when, and if, it will.
Derek Fisher is an unsung hero. He has been with the Lakers for 16 years. He and Kobe Bryant were rookies at the same time. He is a gentle, dignified man, who never calls attention to himself. Underneath that gentle demeanor, beats the heart of a champion. There is no one in the league, who has taken more charges. He has been knocked to the floor many times, but he always gets up. He has probably had more game-winning shots than any other Laker and that includes Kobe Bryant, who has always felt that it was his sole right to take the last shot. As President of the NBA's Player Association, he was a calm, dignified tower of strength.
The Players had a long, contentious battle with the Owners. It seemed to me that the Owners simply wanted to break the Union, and to take away many of the Benefits that the Players have had for years. They had the money and the power, and they behaved as if they expected the Players to surrender quickly. They had surmised correctly, since many of the Players were ready to throw the towel in. However, Fisher has prevailed, and they were able to make the best of a bad situation. Fisher has demonstrated that he has both the Intelligence and Leadership qualities to become successful in Sports, Business, or Politics. He is not as fast as he used to be, but he is still a valued member of the team. He is also just as fearless as he ever was. When the last shot will either win or lose the game for the Lakers, I always hope that it is Fisher who takes it.
Ron Artest did something that the Slaves were taught to do. He tried to throw his boss, Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown, under the bus. He has changed his name to Metta World Peace, but his basketball skills have nearly disappeared. Therefore, he is not receiving as much playing time as he has had in the past, and that has made him unhappy. So, he has decided that Coach Brown is the cause of his problems.
He pointed out, that "Coach Brown never played in the NBA, and that he was just a Stats Man, whose first job was to analyze the videotapes of the games." It seemed to me, that he was announcing to one and all, that Coach Brown was not qualified to have the job. The Lakers Management knew Brown's background when they offered him the job.
If Artest or World Peace, ever complained about Coach Jackson, I am not aware of it. I don't think that the Lakers can trade World Peace, because none of the other teams would take him. His career is on extremely thin ice, so I encourage him to redouble his efforts to play as well as he can, and to keep his mouth shut.
Frank McCourt will likely receive a King's Ransom from the sale of the Dodgers. In addition, he has the leverage that comes from his owning the Parking Lot. If he chooses to do so, he can significantly reduce the value of Dodger Stadium, by constructing buildings where the cars had previously parked. It is going to cost a lot of additional money for MLB to get rid of him.
[Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .]
