The last time that Pau Gasol was traded, his new team hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy 16 months later.
That 2008-09 L.A. Lakers team, led of course by Kobe Bryant playing at his peak, had a lot of championship pieces in place before Gasol arrived. There was centre Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom at forward and future Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton behind him on the bench. They had plenty of guard depth by the time the next season rolled around, with Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. But it wasn’t until Gasol arrived in a blockbuster deal on Feb.