Some comments about this came up in the Khloe and Lamar thread, but to avoid getting too O/T there, I thought I'd start my own.
So here's the scoop: they won the NBA championship in 2009 and 2010 and had a pretty good 2010-11 season, but the post-season had an ugly ending. They lost to the Mavs in a sweep on Mother's Day. Intentionally rough physical contact was made by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, who were ejected. Kobe Bryant, the team's current star, and Magic Johnson, a Laker legend, publicly declared their disgust with Odom's and Bynum's behavior.
If that wasn't bad enough, rumors of personal drama among team members surfaced and blew up in big proportions. In the middle of it is Pau Gasol. Pau, who is (or at least was, until recently) one of the best centers in the NBA and a national sports hero in his native Spain, has been singled out by fans and in the press for his poor post-season performance. Team chemistry supposedly fell apart due to Pau's feud with another Laker, originally thought to be Kobe. Pau was engaged at one point to his gf, Silvia Lopez Castro, but taking the advice of Vanessa Bryant (wife of Kobe), Silvia refused to sign a prenuptial agreement. The engagement was then broken off. Pau was also accused of being repeatedly unfaithful to Silvia during their 2-year relationship, so she broke up with him after hearing about his infidelity from Vanessa. Many people speculated that Pau was unable to perform at his best because of this distraction. Then Silvia was accused of sleeping with Shannon Brown. So now it's thought that the Laker who Pau had the rift with was not Kobe, but Shannon. Also, Vanessa and Silvia were involved in a catfight, with Vanessa calling Sylvia a slut.
The above paragraph is all rumors and speculation, but what's happened so far that is "accurate" (at least quoted to be from the players in more reputable news outlets) is that Pau went on record stating that he didn't have any probs with Kobe. Kobe stated that Vanessa and Silvia barely even knew each other. Pau did state, though, that he and Silvia "were suffering", but are still together. He also stated that he felt he was unfairly singled out for the Lakers' poor performance in the post-season. The Lakers management was quoted as saying that Pau appeared to be very emotional during his exit interview.
So...now the city of LA is holding its breath and wondering what next season will bring us. I predict a major overhaul for the team. I think that even if Dr. Buss decides to bring Pau back, Pau may not want to return. There are a lot of fans very angry with him, and I'm sure he knows that. Is Dwight Howard as a replacement for Pau Gasol a possibility?
So here's the scoop: they won the NBA championship in 2009 and 2010 and had a pretty good 2010-11 season, but the post-season had an ugly ending. They lost to the Mavs in a sweep on Mother's Day. Intentionally rough physical contact was made by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, who were ejected. Kobe Bryant, the team's current star, and Magic Johnson, a Laker legend, publicly declared their disgust with Odom's and Bynum's behavior.
If that wasn't bad enough, rumors of personal drama among team members surfaced and blew up in big proportions. In the middle of it is Pau Gasol. Pau, who is (or at least was, until recently) one of the best centers in the NBA and a national sports hero in his native Spain, has been singled out by fans and in the press for his poor post-season performance. Team chemistry supposedly fell apart due to Pau's feud with another Laker, originally thought to be Kobe. Pau was engaged at one point to his gf, Silvia Lopez Castro, but taking the advice of Vanessa Bryant (wife of Kobe), Silvia refused to sign a prenuptial agreement. The engagement was then broken off. Pau was also accused of being repeatedly unfaithful to Silvia during their 2-year relationship, so she broke up with him after hearing about his infidelity from Vanessa. Many people speculated that Pau was unable to perform at his best because of this distraction. Then Silvia was accused of sleeping with Shannon Brown. So now it's thought that the Laker who Pau had the rift with was not Kobe, but Shannon. Also, Vanessa and Silvia were involved in a catfight, with Vanessa calling Sylvia a slut.
The above paragraph is all rumors and speculation, but what's happened so far that is "accurate" (at least quoted to be from the players in more reputable news outlets) is that Pau went on record stating that he didn't have any probs with Kobe. Kobe stated that Vanessa and Silvia barely even knew each other. Pau did state, though, that he and Silvia "were suffering", but are still together. He also stated that he felt he was unfairly singled out for the Lakers' poor performance in the post-season. The Lakers management was quoted as saying that Pau appeared to be very emotional during his exit interview.
So...now the city of LA is holding its breath and wondering what next season will bring us. I predict a major overhaul for the team. I think that even if Dr. Buss decides to bring Pau back, Pau may not want to return. There are a lot of fans very angry with him, and I'm sure he knows that. Is Dwight Howard as a replacement for Pau Gasol a possibility?