Road, sweet road

Without Andrew Bynum, Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm, the Lakers’ nine-game “road trip from hell” looked daunting. Throw in an injured Kobe Bryant and 5-4 was a hope and a prayer.

Then, the heavens opened up and the Memphis Grizzlies gave the Lakers a gift in Pau Gasol.

Lo and behold, 7-2 and NBA history.

Hallelujah!

Rick Solomon

Lake Balboa

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Gregg Popovich is ticked off that Memphis traded Pau Gasol, its best player, to the Lakers for virtually nothing (in NBA terms). He thinks the NBA should be able to veto any trade that makes no sense. Translation: He is against any trade that could threaten his team.

Funny, I don’t remember him saying word one about the Lakers trading Shaquille O’Neal to Miami for comparatively nothing. The NBA should duct-tape his mouth shut.

Jeff Breslow

Valinda

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Gregg Popovich is sniveling about how the Lakers got Pau Gasol? Jokingly or not, he suggests a panel to review all NBA trades to see if they pass the whiff test?

Then I guess my follow-up question to Gregg would be to ask if this panel would also be able to review whether teams are tanking a season in order to draft a guy like Tim Duncan.

Really, after what the Spurs pulled off in 1997, anyone in that front office who questions how another team goes about acquiring an All-Star has either a very short memory or some nerve.

And Pop has never struck me as the forgetful type.

Max Hoffa

Baumholder, Germany

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A few questions:

* While usually brilliant heading to the hoop, Kobe Bryant has otherwise shown little prescience, so why does the press always defer to him on issues as if he were the resident sage?

* Because they seem so similar in intellect, manner and looks, has someone checked their DNA to see if Pau Gasol and Phil Jackson are related?

* Now that Kwame Brown is gone, judging by his lackluster play of late, is Luke Walton trying to shrink his feet to fill Kwame’s shoes?

Kathy Ross

Long Beach