Why Mitch Kupchak Wasn't Convinced Pau Gasol Deal Was Slam Dunk

He paired alongside Kobe Bryant to create one of the most dominant duos in the NBA and helped the Lakers win two championships along the way. Gasol was recently elected into the NBA Hall-of-Fame, but not everyone was completely sold on him joining LA. 

Sportskeeda recently interviewed a few members of the late 2000s Lakers team because of Gasol entering the Hall of Fame. Former Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was one of them and gave his thoughts on the trade. 

"I remember when we brought him to LA and we went to meet with him when he was getting his physical. Pau talked about his back and that it was an emotional time for him to be traded. He had a back problem. Even then, you say, ‘Oh boy, is this going to work?’ But then that first game, it was seamless. I’m watching it on TV in LA, and you could tell they were a different team. It just got better and better and better. When you’re doing the deal, sometimes you just don’t know. But there’s no doubt that he was a Godsend when we traded for him. Andrew Bynum had just gotten down. The moment we got Pau, we just took off.”

Per SportsKeeda

Things seemed to work out pretty well for Gasol and the Lakers. His back issue was never that big of a deal, and the team cruised to the NBA Finals.

Former head coach Phil Jackson also had some criticism of Gasol prior to him joining the team.

"He was gifted, but hadn’t been on a team that had won a playoff game in his first 5/6 years as an NBA player. He enjoyed winning and loved playing with competitive players.”

Per SportsKeeda

Gasol had made the playoffs a few times with the Grizzlies, but they never could get over the hump to win a playoff game. He was inexperienced in the postseason, and that likely worried Jackson. However, it wasn't long before those worries were put to bed. 

Gasol and Bryant complimented each other extremely well and it showed in the on-court results. Gasol will forever be a fan favorite in Los Angeles, and now has his jersey hanging in the rafters inside Crypto.com Arena.