Pau Gasol: Lakers Don’t Need Major Roster Changes

Pau Gasol says he’s ready to avenge his Playoff flameout from last season, and that the Los Angeles Lakers are fine the way they are (personnel-wise), they just need an attitude adjustment. From ESPN: “Q: You had mentioned personal problems that you had in the playoffs, things that admittedly distracted you. How much of an issue are those going forward? Gasol: ‘It was more off-the-court situations. It wasn’t just personally, like personal stuff, but also with media and people around, and all that. It was a learning experience for me, everything, at how it went down, and how things developed, and hopefully I won’t allow anything like that to happen again. That’s just the way I feel and see it now.’ Q: I’m sure you’ve seen it, people looking at the way the season ended and saying ‘This guy is done, and can’t recover.’ What do you say to people that think the end of last season was the start of a decline for you, or that it showed you’re not capable of being a championship, elite-level player again Gasol: ‘Thanks for the trust. Thanks for the trust. That’s as much as I can say. I can’t pay attention to any negativity. That’s just not me, that’s not who I am, that’s not what I’ve been in my career, that’s not the person that I am. If you know me at all, then — let’s just wait and see. That’s why life is so exciting. Because it puts things in place quickly. I look forward to doing that.’ Q: You think you’ll be fine? Gasol: ‘More than fine.’ Q: Looking at the team, Mike Brown said last week he doesn’t believe the team needs a new identity to compete again for a title. Do you agree with that? Gasol: ‘Fundamentally?’ Q: Yes. That the core is there, and that you don’t have to make sweeping changes in the roster or how you play as a group. You don’t need to change who you are, fundamentally. Gasol: ‘It’s not that we have to change who we are. We are who we are, and I think we’re perfectly fine with that. We just have to make sure we work as hard as anybody in the league, or the hardest. Want it as bad as anybody, or the [most], and that’s it. Be on the same page. Those three things are the basics of success, as being champions and becoming champions. I think that’s what we do. It’s not about doing fundamentally, or even tactically– you can have the tactical strategy that you want, but you have to have the basics.'”