If the Los Angeles Lakers really do intend on trading Pau Gasol before the NBA deadline just under a month away, they might have a hard time doing so. Gasol still has a large salary to his name this season and then will request another hefty contract in the offseason. While it is assumed he has no intentions of re-signing with the Lakers, several other teams have no intention of making a trade for him.
Gasol made headlines earlier in the season saying he would consider a return to the Memphis Grizzlies. The center spent six-plus seasons with the team. After Kobe Bryant signed his large two-year extension, Gasol saw the writing on the wall, knowing there would likely be little money for him to sign a contract with the salary of his choice. So a return to Memphis sounded tempting.
"It's appealing," Gasol said, NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper. "One of the best centers in the NBA, one of the best interior players, is my brother (Marc Gasol). There's a lot of attractive factors there. But who knows if that's even a possibility or if that will ever happen."
Well, if Gasol plans on rejoining his former team, it will not be via a trade before the deadline. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insider reports the Grizzlies have zero plans of adding Gasol to the roster at this point in the season. The Lakers star is still owed $19 million on his current contract and Memphis is not going to take that one.
Kyler makes the point that no team will be willing to take that on for a player that could easily just be a rental until the summer. The Latino Post reported the Lakers were targeting a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers with Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes as the potential package. This would certainly work for both teams. The 76ers are focusing on the 2014 NBA Draft and stockpiling for that. The Lakers get cap flexibility and young talent they can decide what to do with.
Turner will be a free agent at the end of the season and his 18.5 points per game would be a nice addition to the Lakers box score. Hawes is a solid center that could fill the Gasol void. It could easily work if this deal is made.
All of the Gasol talk is mere speculation. The chances of the center going anywhere are slim to none. The Lakers will not find a package that is at all worth their time just to save some money in the offseason. With Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash out, Gasol is one of the most important targets on the court and will stay that way until the offseason.
