Lakers’ bandwagon has new guy in driver’s seat

The NBA Finals begin June 5, although they could be moved to June 3 in the event the Celtics and Lakers sweep aside everyone.

The Finals probably will begin in Boston, the NBA just thrilled with the traditional matchup, the Lakers returning home for Games 3, 4 and 5 to wrap things up, and the parade most likely taking place the week of June 16.

Happy days are here again, but I’m so confused.

BY ALMOST everyone’s estimation around here, Pau Gasol has put the Lakers over the top, our beloved Kobe Bryant telling reporters the other day, “I have to take my hat off to Dr. [Jerry] Buss and Mitch [Kupchak] for going forward with this.”

But that’s what has got me so confused, if not concerned.

Wasn’t it just a few months ago when our beloved one was saying, “Jerry Buss is an idiot,’ ” and Kupchak ought to “ship out” Andrew Bynum?

Should anyone put much stock in anything someone so wishy-washy has to say?

Just imagine if Buss and Kupchak had surrendered to overwhelming public pressure as applied by Bryant this summer, and had traded Bynum.

Imagine watching that young man grow up and play elsewhere for the next decade or so.

Didn’t Bryant also insist on being traded?

OK, so name another team that not only has a chance to win a title this year, but who also has the young and developing players to win for years to come?

Sometimes superstars should be seen and not heard, the basketball experts left to do what they do best, and as idiots go, Buss has a pretty fair track record hiring the people to get the job done.

How many fans still think Buss made a mistake in dealing an out-of-shape Shaq rather than agreeing to give him a contract extension?

There’s a report now the Suns are talking to the Heat about a trade for Shaq -- looking for someone, I guess, to stand in the way of Bynum and Gasol, a statue the best they can do.

When Buss let Shaq go, it was all about remaining competitive for years to come. The acquisition of Gasol now leaves Buss in the position of paying the NBA luxury tax, and although Donald Sterling might still consider him an idiot, Buss is proving once again to be everything a Lakers fan should want in an owner.

He not only pays top dollar for companionship, which is so Hollywood, but he’s also the guy who hired the NBA’s best coach.

And Phil Jackson earned his $10 million keep before this season even began, remaining the voice of calm with Bryant this summer, although I can’t wait to read the book and what he really thinks when Jackson ends his Lakers career.

MY FIRST thought when I heard the Lakers had picked up Gasol was not the NBA Finals, but the concern that Bynum might be more hurt than we know, and maybe even out for the season.

I also expressed concern with Gasol’s physical condition, a sore back just the kind of thing to bedevil a seven-footer all season long -- even though he plays soft.

It was disturbing too, I guess, to note that his next playoff win will be his first, Gasol going 0 for 12 so far in the playoffs, while the Clippers’ Quinton Ross already has seven playoff wins.

And the fact is, the folks in Memphis were treating the team’s best player like Lakers fans regarded Kwame Brown.

I’ve got to admit I had my doubts, but then don’t I always, so I decided this time to go along with everyone else and get swept away by Lakers euphoria.

You know what, it feels pretty good. John Ireland just told Gasol on Channel 9 -- before our guys went out to take on the Nets, that he’s really looking forward to seeing Gasol play, and I’ll bet he never said that to Brown.

Then it was time for the opening tip, an hour after it actually had happened because I was watching Channel 9, and Gasol tapped the ball forward to Lamar Odom, who tossed it to Vladimir Radmanovic, who scored. When’s the last time Radmanovic scored? Gasol is that good.

Gasol, wearing No. 16, stuffed in his first basket as a Laker after two close-in misses, and failed to catch a pass thrown directly his way, a nice tribute in memory of Brown.

It’s halftime on Channel 9, but there really was only 1:29 remaining in the game and the Lakers were up by 10. FYI, the NBA playoffs begin April 19, probably a day later on Sunday in L.A. for national TV purposes -- giving everyone plenty of time to buy their No. 16 jerseys.

Bryant injured his finger, but James Worthy said that he doesn’t think it will affect his shooting. Bryant has only six points, and while that might’ve done in the Lakers on any other night, it’s “Pau, Pau, Pau,” and Gasol has Bryant’s back with 24.

The Lakers go on to win by 15 with Bryant playing 40 minutes, but going only three for 13 from the field and finishing with those six points. Nine players on the court score more than Bryant.

To the credit of every other Laker, though, no one says anything about needing more if they’re going to win a championship this year. Sometimes it’s just best to let things work themselves out.

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Glenn Langdon: “Since you’ve decided to start dissing Barbaro again, I have a question for you, when are you going to write your column defending Michael Vick? After all, they’re just dead dogs. Or are you a hypocrite? Here’s a deal for you, Simers. If you contribute $100 to the Barbaro Memorial Fund, I will donate $200 to the Mattel Children’s Hospital. But then, if you did that, it would expose your hypocrisy.”

My reply: I’ll never donate to an animal cause -- not when there are sick children out there.

Langdon’s response: “And so by refusing my offer, those sick children will not get a $200 donation. You really are a hypocrite.”

So if I donate, I’m a hypocrite, and if I don’t, I’m a hypocrite.

If you didn’t want to donate $200 to the kids -- why bring it up?

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. For previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers