Pau Gasol and The Trade That Improved The Memphis Grizzlies

This afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics for the first time (believe it or not) in nearly a year. In lieu of bland, worthless commentary, it seems fitting to reminisce upon another major event that is fast approaching its two-year anniversary: the Pau Gasol trade. 

Initially blasted for soft-tossing the Lakers their missing championship piece, Memphis GM Chris Wallace suddenly appears to be undeserving of any further criticism, as the Grizzlies have been a pleasant surprise in 2009-10. As Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times writes, while it indeed was a trade that changed the NBA, both Gasol and the Grizzlies have benefitted from the once-maligned deal:

"Memphis, looking back at it now, made a pretty good deal," Kupchak said. "At the time, they took a beating. They ended up getting a player that we both knew was a good player and he's going to get a lot better. They got a lot of flexibility. They got multiple draft picks. I'm happy for Memphis because that's how it should be."

In the end, the Lakers have the Gasol who is the three-time All-Star. He was definitely ready to leave Memphis.

Read that last sentence again. Perhaps getting rid of Gasol, regardless of the financial benefits, was the most important move for Memphis. At the time, the brunt of the criticism surrounding the deal was the light return package. Ironically, it now appears that in opting to trade for draft picks, the Grizzlies have struck gold.

The "good player" Memphis got? Pau's younger brother, Marc Gasol, who has quietly become one of the best young centers that the league has to offer. Consider that the Grizz also own the Lakers' first-round pick this season, and in trading another former Laker in Javaris Crittenton, they also have the rights to a future Washington Wizards first rounder, almost guaranteed to be a top-ten pick. As good as Memphis has been this season, it's only going to get better.

While Pau Gasol may be playing for a championship contender on ABC today, Grizzlies fans couldn't care less. They've got their own Gasol to be proud of.