The Los Angeles Lakers are an old veteran team and with Kobe Bryant still out with his Achilles and Steve Nash nursing a bad back, could the team pull off a trade involving Pau Gasol or Jordan Hill to get some help at point guard until the stars can return to the lineup?
The Lakers came into the season knowing that things could go bad with Bryant's return from Achilles surgery and they also knew that Steve Nash would be pushing 40-years-old and could be on the sidelines as well and now that those two things have happened, the team could try and make some moves. The Lakers signed a number of players in the offseason to help get by and while Jodie Meeks and others have played well, it's not quite what Bryant and Nash bring when they are healthy.
Mitch Kupchak has said already that the team will not be making any deals to get a point guard in the short term, but that's no fun right? There has been numerous reports in the media about what the Lakers should do and what they could do and some options include trading players or signing someone as a free agent, but at this point pickings are pretty slim. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers could try to make a move by trading backups with someone else, perhaps Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors, as the team has stated that it may move Rudy Gay and others as general manager Masai Ujiri works on rebuilding.
The team likely wouldn't deal Gasol in a trade for Lowry, but someone else like Jordan Hill or some of the backup players could be an option for Ujiri, as most have expiring deals to free up money for the Lakers over the next couple seasons. Obviously adding a starting point guard with Nash working his way back poses its problems, but since Nash is nearly 40 and dealing with a back issue, it is a fair bet that this continues to be an issue for the Lakers this season. Gasol has been dealing with a foot strain all season and he has been toughing it out and after years of being mentioned in trade rumors, chances are that is all they will remain for Gasol.
This season Gasol has been playing much better without Dwight Howard in the fold and he is averaging 12.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists despite playing with pain and he is one of the primary players for the Lakers with Bryant out. Coach Mike D'Antoni said that Gasol has been dealing with the pain for some time, but that he has been a leader for the team and is one of the reasons why they have been off to a solid start, which was not the case last season with Bryant, Gasol and Howard all on the floor at the same time.
Jordan Hill has been playing some good basketball for the Lakers and that could be one reason why they make a deal, as his value is very high right now, as he is coming off of a nice game with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Pelicans and he is averaging 7.9 points and 7.1 rebounds this season. Gasol is tops on the team in rebounding while Meeks is tops in scoring and the team is holding tight in the division, as they are just two games back of the surprising Phoenix Suns and just behind the LA Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.
