Because you're not bright enough to do anything other than Monday Morning Quarterback. Everyone sees that in every game thread, where you say stupid shyt every fukking day that gets proved wrong. "AD is completely useless!" then AD finishes with 30 and 15 while leading the team to a win. "It's another fake comeback" then the Lakers make another great comeback and win. "This was a scheduled loss from the beginning, we can't beat them", then the Lakers win the game. You make it obvious that you know nothing about what is happening while it is happening, then you judge it all after the fact based solely on the dumb Canadian biases you have.
All of Kupchak's moves for Ariza, Pau, Artest, CP3, Dwight, Nash were seen as great moves at the time, they were almost UNIVERSALLY praised. The Ariza, Pau and Artest moves helped them win two titles, the Dwight and Nash moves didn't work out but not because he didn't put enough talent on the team. And losing out on CP3 had NOTHING to do with Kupchak, he can only negotiate a monster deal, he had no way of knowing that the league would veto it for being too good a deal. A general manager can only control who he acquires, he can't control what others do after the fact.
Lakers were the preseason favorites in 6-7 of the 16 years that Kupchak was GM. How the fukk is that possible for the "worst GM in the league"? That was Kupchak's job, and he did it. After that it's the responsibility of the players to perform, and they only won 4 of those seasons. That's not on him.
Lakers Grade: A
This trade was a brilliant move by Kupchak. Not only does he put a sharpshooter who can distribute the rock—Nash—with a guard who is an elite all-around scorer—Kobe Bryant—but he was also able to do it without jeopardizing his team's title hopes.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
Essentially, the Lakers just traded a first-round pick (at earliest in 2017, due to the Steve Nash trade) and Bynum for Howard.
Who in their right mind
wouldn't do that deal?
The fact L.A. managed to spare Gasol from being involved in the trade makes them the clear, unquestioned winner here.
Grades
Lakers: A
The Los Angeles Lakers are now the team to beat in the NBA. Nash, Kobe, Metta World Peace, Gasol and Howard make up perhaps the best starting unit in the league—although their bench depth leaves something to be desired.
Regardless, GM Mitch Kupchak had no choice but to pull the trigger on this trade, as his squad had been eliminated early in the playoffs in the past two seasons and desperately needed a shakeup.
After acquiring Nash earlier in the offseason, the Lakers completed their transformation back to the top of the league by netting DH12.
Gasol trade earns Lakers top grade
It has been well documented that the Lakers obtained Pau Gasol through thievery. Not only did they get the former All-Star, but in the process, they got rid of Kwame Brown.
Brown actually had a desirable “expiring contract,” as well as an undesirable expiring career. The Lakers’ trade turned out to be so spectacularly one-sided that newbie Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace was gun shy with trading Mike Miller, a player unnecessary for a rebuilding team, because of potential criticism that he might get in any deal with him.
Do you seriously think the majority opinion at the time was that Ariza, Pau, Artest, CP3, Dwight, and Nash were all mistakes when they were announced? You trying to talk shyt about acquiring Dwight, who had been 1st-team All-NBA for four straight years, Nash, who had been an All-Star the year before, or Artest, who had taken the Lakers to 7 in the WCSF just a couple months before he signed, is nonsense.
