Christmas in February
It’s funny how the vicissitudes of life can take you from one emotional extreme to another. Thursday night I was depressed. The Lakers had lost by one point to the Detroit Pistons. I think it was the low point of the Laker season for me. Even though I had fully expected for the Lakers to lose to one of the best teams in the league on the road without their blossoming young center Andrew Bynum, it still hurt to see them so close to winning the game but having victory snatched away like that. To make things worse, I was tracking the game on the internet since it was tape delayed on television and when I hit refresh on my browser I initially read the final score as a Laker victory and squealed with delight. When I realized my mistake it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I really should work on my reading skills.
That feeling carried over the next day until about noon. I checked my cell phone and listened to a voice mail message. My friend El Jefe told me that the Lakers had traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Of course I was sure he was lying to me. So before I even called him back I checked ESPNews. And much to my delight there it was in the ticker. I called El Jefe back and just started saying “Dude!” and “Oh my fucking God.” I told him that I didn’t believe him and he told me he was telling the truth. Then I told him I had already check the news. We were giddy like schoolgirls. This had to mean the Lakers would win a championship within the next two years. His brother called him so I got off the line and started calling my other Laker fans.
I called Johnny Ringo and he didn’t answer so I left a message. Thursday night he had taped the UCLA basketball game so he was avoiding all sports news before he watched the game. So when he called me back his first question was “Are you fucking with me because you know I can’t check the news.” He broke down and checked and confirmed the news. I also called Vayacondios and when we spoke he also said he still didn’t believe it was a done deal and was sure that the deal would somehow fall apart. How could the Lakers have turned an athlete that was recently voted by his fellow players as the player doing the least with the most talent into a past All-Star still in his prime? When I saw Gasol on the bench of the Washington Wizards game on Sunday, I finally believed it was true.
Now being the “optimist” that I am, I do have some concerns. I remember feeling this excited when Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined the Lakers in the summer of 2003. While that team came close, in the end they failed to win a championship, in part due to an injury to Malone in the playoffs. So I know nothing is guaranteed (just ask the New England Patriots). The Boston Celtics are still currently the best team in the league and the Lakers will still have to get past the Suns, Mavericks, Hornets, and/or San Antonio to get to them.
My other concern is Lamar Odom. When Andrew Bynum returns from injury, Pau Gasol will move to the power forward position and Odom will once again play at the small forward position. The Lakers experimented earlier this year with Odom playing the three and the experiment failed and Odom was moved to the four again and began playing better. Odom might have come into the league as a small forward but he now seems better suited to being a power forward. The Lakers should be fine if they keep Odom, but El Jefe pointed and I can’t help thinking that the team would be better with a more defensive oriented small forward that can consistently make three pointers. If the Lakers could trade for Ron Artest or Shane Battier, they would really be unstoppable.
My final concern is that Gasol is a Spaniard. Being a Mexican American I have some issues with Spaniards. I hold grudges and it’s a little hard to get over the thought that some of my ancestors raped and killed some of my other ancestors. But I guess if Gasol helps the Lakers win a championship, I’ll get over it.
Despite all my concerns, there is no denying that Friday felt like Christmas for me. Though the obvious present was the Lakers getting Gasol from the Grizzlies, the real present for me was the hope that I got from the Lakers. I went from wondering if the Lakers would make the playoffs with Bynum being out for another six weeks to wondering how many championships this team will win. Sometimes it’s better to receive than to give.
That feeling carried over the next day until about noon. I checked my cell phone and listened to a voice mail message. My friend El Jefe told me that the Lakers had traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Of course I was sure he was lying to me. So before I even called him back I checked ESPNews. And much to my delight there it was in the ticker. I called El Jefe back and just started saying “Dude!” and “Oh my fucking God.” I told him that I didn’t believe him and he told me he was telling the truth. Then I told him I had already check the news. We were giddy like schoolgirls. This had to mean the Lakers would win a championship within the next two years. His brother called him so I got off the line and started calling my other Laker fans.
I called Johnny Ringo and he didn’t answer so I left a message. Thursday night he had taped the UCLA basketball game so he was avoiding all sports news before he watched the game. So when he called me back his first question was “Are you fucking with me because you know I can’t check the news.” He broke down and checked and confirmed the news. I also called Vayacondios and when we spoke he also said he still didn’t believe it was a done deal and was sure that the deal would somehow fall apart. How could the Lakers have turned an athlete that was recently voted by his fellow players as the player doing the least with the most talent into a past All-Star still in his prime? When I saw Gasol on the bench of the Washington Wizards game on Sunday, I finally believed it was true.
Now being the “optimist” that I am, I do have some concerns. I remember feeling this excited when Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined the Lakers in the summer of 2003. While that team came close, in the end they failed to win a championship, in part due to an injury to Malone in the playoffs. So I know nothing is guaranteed (just ask the New England Patriots). The Boston Celtics are still currently the best team in the league and the Lakers will still have to get past the Suns, Mavericks, Hornets, and/or San Antonio to get to them.
My other concern is Lamar Odom. When Andrew Bynum returns from injury, Pau Gasol will move to the power forward position and Odom will once again play at the small forward position. The Lakers experimented earlier this year with Odom playing the three and the experiment failed and Odom was moved to the four again and began playing better. Odom might have come into the league as a small forward but he now seems better suited to being a power forward. The Lakers should be fine if they keep Odom, but El Jefe pointed and I can’t help thinking that the team would be better with a more defensive oriented small forward that can consistently make three pointers. If the Lakers could trade for Ron Artest or Shane Battier, they would really be unstoppable.
My final concern is that Gasol is a Spaniard. Being a Mexican American I have some issues with Spaniards. I hold grudges and it’s a little hard to get over the thought that some of my ancestors raped and killed some of my other ancestors. But I guess if Gasol helps the Lakers win a championship, I’ll get over it.
Despite all my concerns, there is no denying that Friday felt like Christmas for me. Though the obvious present was the Lakers getting Gasol from the Grizzlies, the real present for me was the hope that I got from the Lakers. I went from wondering if the Lakers would make the playoffs with Bynum being out for another six weeks to wondering how many championships this team will win. Sometimes it’s better to receive than to give.
posted by The Pocho at 11:49 AM
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