Los Angeles Lakers looking to trade Pau Gasol in the offseason – NBA Report
As was expected after the Los Angeles Lakers 2nd round exit from the playoffs this year, they are looking to trade Pau Gasol in the offseason.
The Lakers have two big men on their roster in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and after the playoffs in which the Lakers were defeated 4-1 in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was clear that one of the two big men would
leave. The Lakers picked up their team option on Andrew Bynum a few weeks ago, and it has become imminent now that Gasol would eventually be traded.
The Spanish big had a mediocre postseason which saw his number fall dramatically. He averaged 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds after averaging 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in the regular season.
Gasol did not play really well in last year’s playoffs as well and the Lakers are now looking to restructure the team so they can compete for the championship again and Gasol does not seem to be fitting in the mix. He was almost
traded before the start of the regular season in a three team deal that would have landed Chris Paul to the Lakers. The deal did not go through though and Gasol remained with the Lakers, knowing that they were going to trade him.
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily has reported that one of the places Gasol could land in an eventual trade is the Memphis Grizzlies alongside brother Marc Gasol.
“The Lakers are committed to moving Pau Gasol, the fall guy for their second-round ouster against the Thunder and previous playoff failures — even if they have to take back less talent. As long as Heisley retains the Grizzlies,
Memphis will always have interest. Heisley has always wanted to bring Gasol back, pairing him with his brother Marc,” said Lawrence.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has reportedly entered into an agreement to sell the franchise to technology billionaire Robert J. Pera. The sale is still pending approval from the NBA board of governors but Heisley was optimistic
that the deal would go through.
Gasol comes with a heavy price tag and it will be difficult to decide who the Grizzlies will be willing to let go in place of Gasol.
Of all the stars in the roster, Zach Randolph is the likely candidate to be traded to the Lakers in return. If Gasol does make it to Memphis, having Randolph in the team as well would not make sense.
Gasol is due $40 million over the next two years while Randolph is due $34 million over the next two seasons so it would make sense for the Grizzlies to trade Randolph in order to keep within the salary cap.
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