The Memphis Grizzlies made one of the most seemingly one-sided trades in NBA history year ago when they dealt Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and the draft rights to his brother Marc and years later the inspiration for the deal has been uncovered and it includes Derrick Rose.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace pulled the trigger on that deal back in 2008 as a way to help "reboot" the team and bring in fresh young talent, as the franchise was mired in losing seasons and poor play and needed a shake-up. The report says that Wallace was partly inspired by Derrick Rose, as the way he was playing at Memphis while still in college, the same city as the Grizzlies, and he said that the way he was playing and his style was captivating to the crowds and the team looked much better than their NBA counterpart, which helped get Wallace moving in the deal.
Looking back, the deal could be considered about even, as the Lakers for championships out of Gasol, while the Grizzlies now have Marc Gasol as one of the best big men in the game and are on the upswing after making it to the conference finals last season. The Grizzlies had never won a playoff game at that previous point and now things are very turned around, as Mike Conley and Zach Randolph are in the fold and the team appears to be consistently improving from season to season.
The Grizzlies are a team that likes to think outside the box and now they have a Rose-type player of their own on Conely, who while not as talented as Rose has shown that he should be in the conversation as one of the top young point guards in the league. The Lakers obviously did fine, winning two of three straight title appearances with Gasol, but right now there's no doubt the team would love to have the younger Gasol rather than the older one.
Marc is coming off of a defensive player of the year award and while his older brother is still very good, he struggled last season playing alongside Dwight Howard and now the Lakers will try and make the best of their roster this season after Superman left for Houston. When Gasol was originally traded, he was considered to be one of the top players in the NBA after averaging 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists that season before being moved and Kobe Bryant has always said how much he loves playing with him.
The Lakers obviously love that they got Gasol and how it turned out, but looking back they may owe a nice little thank you to Derrick Rose.
Wallace's quote from the Boston Globe:
"We were stuck at that point. We never won a playoff game. We were heading for a second 20-something-win season. After all, this is the entertainment business and the town really did not see much entertainment value in our team anymore. Our crowds were dismal and it coincided with the Derrick Rose season at the University of Memphis, and literally we were like a high school JV compared to them in terms of interest. It was just remarkable when we played a day-night doubleheader, you didn't think you were in the same building when you went to their game. So, there was really nothing to lose at that point."
