Ding: Gasol gives Lakers a contender

TORONTO — Kobe Bryant need wait no longer for the Lakers’ bold move for championship immediacy.

Power forward Pau Gasol, a 2006 All-Star, arrived in trade Friday from the Memphis Grizzlies with a second-round pick for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two future first-round draft picks. It is a deal that catapults the Lakers into championship contention both now and later.

And it moved Bryant to offer his strongest affirmation about perhaps again staying a Laker for life.

“It shows a level of commitment that I questioned over the summer,” said Bryant, whose 46 points led the short-handed Lakers to a 121-101 victory Friday over the Toronto Raptors. “I have to take my hat off to (Jerry) Buss and Mitch (Kupchak) for going forward with this. Now it’s on us.”

The 7-foot Gasol, 27, has averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds amid rampant trade speculation once Memphis concluded he could not anchor its rebuilding team. The Lakers expect by sometime in March — they insist Andrew Bynum’s knee injury should not cost him the rest of this season — to plug Gasol into a skyscraping, skilled frontcourt with Bynum and Lamar Odom. That would give them three top-shelf interior players — all 6-foot-10 or taller — to go with Bryant.

“It’s amazing to be on a team full of history as the Lakers,” Gasol said on his Web site. “But not only because of their past, mainly because of the present: playing along with Kobe Bryant is a privilege, which is not easy for most of the players in this league. And there will be lots of opportunities to be in the playoffs and do great things in this league, as I always wished … winning and fighting.”

If Gasol, tournament MVP when Spain won the 2006 FIBA World Championship, helps the Lakers make a renewed push in the Western Conference, Buss and Kupchak might have just helped Bryant secure his first NBA MVP trophy, too.

“Now it’s just time to put the work in,” Bryant said, “and work on the chemistry.”

Click here to read more

Does Pau Gasol make the Lakers a contender for the NBA title? How long will it take for this team to gel? Sound off in the CL.com Forums!