Would you rather have Gasol or KG, assuming the trade would be equal players given up Options

[The Dude Abides]

I know the 2 big names thrown around are Gasol and KG. I'm interested to see the pulse of this board regarding which player you would rather have. This is hypothetical, so assume that we would give up the same package for either.

All things being equal...Which would you rather have???

I would take Gasol. KG is an amazing all star, but he is almost damaged goods at this point. Gasol is younger. Gasol can also player either center or PF, which gives us more lineup options.

[CryptViLL]

Same things giving up for each? Garnett then...

But i think wed have to give up less for gasol, so Gasol wins for me.

[SoxFan1]

I don't get this "damaged goods" notion. He's 30, not 40. And of the 41 games the TWolves have played so far, Garnett has missed one...and it was due to a suspension, not an injury.

[ZoomSlowik]

I don't get this "damaged goods" notion. He's 30, not 40. And of the 41 games the TWolves have played so far, Garnett has missed one...and it was due to a suspension, not an injury.

Agreed, that belief is far to prevalent. People seem to assume that he is worn down, but he has yet to show signs of fading.

Still, with the current team setup, I'd take Gasol. Garnett is the better player, but Gasol has more tread left on the tires at 26, and makes about $8 mil less per year. We'd be setup to contend for quite some time with him on the roster, while we're not entirely sure how many years KG has left (though so far it looks like a safe bet that he has at least 3 years of solid play left).

[Steve9347]

I don't get this "damaged goods" notion. He's 30, not 40. And of the 41 games the TWolves have played so far, Garnett has missed one...and it was due to a suspension, not an injury.

I've been arguing that all season.

However, Gasol costs less, in what we have to give up, as well as salary, and fits exactly what we need to the extent that I think the following equation is true

Gasol - [players dealt] > Garnett - [players dealt]

[SoxFan1]

I agree with that. Garnett is a better player, but when you factor in the age, salalries, and what we would have to give up to acquire one of the two, then I give Gasol the edge too.

[DrunkBomber]

Id like to have either but acquiring Gasol would be cheaper and more then likely less harmless. Hes also younger.

[sport1016]

Younger yes. Cheaper Yes.

Key Factor: Gasol can move to center to play alongside TT down the road for an excellent front line

[eddog2]

I've been arguing that all season.

However, Gasol costs less, in what we have to give up, as well as salary, and fits exactly what we need to the extent that I think the following equation is true

Gasol - [players dealt] > Garnett - [players dealt]

Exactly what I was thinking. Gasol would be better. Also with KG you have to worry about a possible rift b/w him and Skiles. KG has run several coaches out of Minnesota. Not to say Skiles is my favorite coach but I wouldn't want KG to be a distraction. Gasol is a team player and is unselfish. He'll fit in better than KG.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

The question shouldn't be who's younger or who's cheaper...it should be who gives us the best chance to win a championship...With ben wallace, might as well go for it...

I'd easily take the future hall-of-famer, if he's available, as long as the deal wouldn't be too ridiculous...

[Chisoxfn]

Younger yes. Cheaper Yes.

Key Factor: Gasol can move to center to play alongside TT down the road for an excellent front line

Excellent point and I think Gasol would be a tremendous move that quite possibly puts this franchise over the top and puts us in a position to have a nice long window where we contend for the NBA title (if we don't overpay).

[eddog2]

The question shouldn't be who's younger or who's cheaper...it should be who gives us the best chance to win a championship...With ben wallace, might as well go for it...

I'd easily take the future hall-of-famer, if he's available, as long as the deal wouldn't be too ridiculous...

I think we could get Gasol a lot cheaper and thus would have more talent to win a championship with. I think KG is the better player but Gasol gives us a great threat down low and he would be enough to propel us to a title assuming we don't give up too much in return. I think KG would be great for a couple of years. However, I think Minnesota will be asking for way too much. We'll end up having KG/Wallace and some other talent but not enough to win a title. Remember, KG has played with talent in the past and came up short (Latrell, Cassell Troy Hudson ect.)

[Steve9347]

The question shouldn't be who's younger or who's cheaper...it should be who gives us the best chance to win a championship...With ben wallace, might as well go for it...

I'd easily take the future hall-of-famer, if he's available, as long as the deal wouldn't be too ridiculous...

We acquire Gasol, and we're championship contenders this year, as well as for the next five. I really see this giving us a very large window.

[ZoomSlowik]

Remember, KG has played with talent in the past and came up short (Latrell, Cassell Troy Hudson ect.)

That was the one year where he actually had a good team for a while, and they got crushed by Shaq and Kobe. That was also the only year the team played good defense, they constantly allowed over 95 points per game even though they were only a decent scoring team and played at a fairly slow pace. They were really a middle of the road team offensively and defensively every year. KG can only do so much. The year after that Cassell only played 59 games and Sprewell wasn't very effective at all. Plus the 2 years before that it was basically him, Sczcerbiak, and one year stints of decency from Billups and Hudson. Those team were bad, it was a miracle KG carried them into the playoffs.

Before that his teams were decent, but still not stellar. They had a healthy Terrell Brandon at the point, and Sczcerbiak was decent as a 3rd scorer. Not exactly a world-beating team though. He did have Marbury and Gugliotta at one point, but that was before he hit his prime. We are talking about a collection of teams that failed to place above 3rd in their division outside of one year even with one of the top 5 players in the league, that should tell you how bad the rest of the roster was.

It took me a while to say it, but he really only had one team that could hang with the better teams in the West, and that one fell short. Assuming the deal would be Deng, Tyrus, Brown, and the Knicks' pick, that would still be by far the best team he's played with. Depth could be an issue, but a lineup of Hinrich-Gordon-Noc-KG-Wallace still has a pretty good amount of firepower and has incredible post defense to go with pretty good perimeter defense.

However, Gasol makes more sense because so far it sounds like we'd be able to keep Deng and Tyrus, and Gasol is 4 years younger, and it would a bit easier to keep our other core guys with the roughly $8 mil difference in salaries between KG and Gasol.

[madisonsmadhouse]

You can win a title with Kevin Garnett and some help. You can't say the samething about Gasol.