L.A. now favorites with Gasol

Friday, February 1, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

I think Pau Gasol might win a playoff game now. And I think Kobe might finally back off that trade demand.

The brilliant trade the Lakers made today, in which they traded a sack of leftovers to Memphis for the Spanish power forward, is a far better move than anything they could have done with Jason Kidd and puts the finishing touches on a seemingly overnight transformation from one-man team into title-contending juggernaut.

 
 

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  • John Hollinger John Hollinger

    John Hollinger began writing for ESPN.com Insider in 2005. He's best known for his analytical work, including creating the Player Efficiency Rating (PER), a statistical rating of an NBA player's per-minute productivity. He has developed several other statistical measures in recent years, and his PER and team rankings are updated daily on ESPN.com.

    Before joining ESPN, John authored four annual editions of the "Pro Basketball Forecast," which analyzed every NBA player and team and provided detailed advanced stats for each. His player and team profiles now live on ESPN.com's Insider section, along with all the stats. He also contributes to ESPN The Magazine, ESPNEWS and The New York Sun. His previous stints include work for SI.com and Oregonlive.com.

    John grew up in northern New Jersey and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1993 with degrees in Economics and Environmental Science. He made stops in Washington, D.C., and Portland before moving to Atlanta, where he lives with his wife.

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