NEW YORK -- It was a simple play in one of many practices this season, but the symbolism was much greater than that for the Lakers.
Pau Gasol caught the ball in the post, gathered himself for a moment with his back to the basket, and fired off a short hook shot that arced through the hoop.
It had been a while since the Lakers had a post player who was a threat on offense -- a little more than three weeks since Andrew Bynum's knee injury, to be exact -- but there was Gasol in his first practice with his new team, reminding the Lakers why they traded for him.
"He's got a lot of positions he can play, but he's long. Really long," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said Monday. "That will be important for us to get the post part of our game back. Kobe [Bryant] has taken a lot of post position, Ronny [Turiaf] has done some good things in the post, but we haven't had any real dedicated post part of our game."
Gasol will get his first start for the Lakers at center tonight against New Jersey unless there is an unexpected flare-up with his sore back. He had missed three of his last four games with the Memphis Grizzlies because of his back problems, but said he was feeling better.
"It's getting there, good enough to perform well," he said. "I have it under control. I'm working hard with the trainers and physical therapists, and it's looking good."
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Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley detailed his thoughts on the Gasol trade in an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
"We had conversations with Chicago which were non-satisfactory. They didn't want to take on the luxury-tax situation and Los Angeles was," Heisley said. "I know right now people are saying we're crazy. We got everything we could get out of the Lakers. We got draft choices and cap relief. That's what we wanted. They weren't going to give us Kobe."
Heisley suggested in the interview that the Lakers offered Kwame Brown and Vladimir Radmanovic, but the Grizzlies didn't want Radmanovic's contract of three more years for $19 million. A key part of the deal was apparently the substitution of rookie guard Javaris Crittenton instead of Radmanovic on Thursday night. The Gasol deal was officially struck the next morning.
"We held out," said Heisley. "They finally sweetened the pot."
Heisley also said former Grizzlies president Jerry West was not involved in the talks.
"Not at all," he said.
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