Sore back keeps Gasol from Lakers debut
Spaniard takes some shooting drills but sits out game against Wizards
 | New Lakers center Pau Gasol talks with reporters before his new team's game against the Wizards. Gasol didn't play Sunday but wants to "get ready to rock and roll." |
Evan Vucci / AP |
 | Slideshow |
 | more photos |
 | Video: NBA from NBC Sports |
 Abdul-Jabbar managing his illness Nov. 15: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wants to be very clear that his cancer was caught early and that he's not dealing with a death sentence. |
Ask the NBA expert: Ira Winderman |
Do you have a burning question about your favorite team or player? Submit it now, and then check back for our reader mailbag on the 1st and 15th of each month. |  |
WASHINGTON - Pau Gasol sat out the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-91 victory at the Washington Wizards on Sunday, not quite ready to play for his new team because of a sore back, a whirlwind 48 hours and an unfamiliarity with the triangle offense.
“We want him to practice first. He traveled back and forth across the country, up all night, short hours of sleep. This isn’t a fair situation for him,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before Sunday’s game.
“We’ll practice tomorrow and see how he feels,” Jackson said. “Play with the guys before we have him going into an NBA game with the ’Showtime’ thing.”
Gasol, the 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and a 2006 All-Star, averaged 18.9 points and 8.8 rebounds for the Memphis Grizzlies this season, his seventh with the team.
The Spaniard missed three of four games because of a bad back before Friday’s trade. The Grizzlies got Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton, two first-round draft picks, cash and the rights to Gasol’s brother Marc. The Lakers also received Memphis’ 2010 second-round draft pick.
“I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t know anything about it,” Gasol said. “I’m trying to digest everything that’s been going (on) with me the last two days, and get ready to rock and roll.”
He wore jeans and a black zippered sweater for a brief news conference at the Wizards’ arena — the first three minutes were in Spanish, the next four in English — then went to the visiting locker room to change.
Moments later, Gasol was out on the court for some shooting and low-post drills, wearing a purple T-shirt and purple shorts and standing a few feet from Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
Asked whether this deal will put an end to the talk about whether Bryant would be traded, Jackson replied: “It depends on how well it works. ... It will give us a more complete game, a more fluid game. Kobe sees that it will give us some opportunities to come back in games.”
|
After scoring 30 points to lead the Lakers past the Wizards, Bryant was asked whether he would like to see general manager Mitch Kupchak make another move before the trade deadline.
“I’m letting Mitch handle that stuff,” Bryant said. “I gave up playing GM in the summer.”
Gasol went from a Memphis team that was 13-34 entering Sunday to a Los Angeles team that was 30-16 after Saturday’s victory.
“The pressure of winning and being one of the favorites, I think, is what you want to be involved in,” he said. “That’s the kind of pressure I’ve been missing being in the NBA. I love that.”
The Lakers hope he can help them overcome recent injuries to frontcourt players, including blossoming center Andrew Bynum.
“Pau gives us a strength in the post. If Andrew becomes healthy again this year, it will give us a double post. We’ll have the biggest front line in the West. That could be a factor,” Jackson said. “It’s a great patch in the hole. It’s a great way to shore up some of the things that were bothering us, that hurt us last year.”
Said Bryant: “It’s going to make everyone’s life a lot easier.”
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
LowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM NBA |
 NBA Section Front |
| Add NBA headlines to your news reader: |
Sponsored links