The Minnesota Timberwolves have been persistent in their pursuit of Pau Gasol over the last two seasons with a desire to pair the two-time NBA champion with fellow Spanish teammate Ricky Rubio.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, the Los Angeles Lakers have been reluctant to make the move with the seemingly no interest in trade offers proposed by the Timberwolves.
With the Gasol trade rumors swirling all over the league over the past few weeks, there’s no telling what the future holds for the four-time All-Star. Gasol appears to be on a short leash with the Lakers moving forward as he’s struggled to adjust to the new system under head coach Mike D’Antoni.
The Lakers’ front office has let it be known that Gasol will be on the trading block if things don’t change in the near future, but appear to be holding out for Steve Nash’s return. The team assumes a drastic turnaround will take place with Nash back in the fold and Gasol may benefit more than most.
Despite the Lakers holding off on trading Pau, the rumors continue with the Timberwolves’ latest offer not all that appealing in comparison to others according to Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com:
It’s an open secret around the league, meanwhile, that Timberwolves general manager David Kahn has been trying since last season to acquire Gasol to join fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio in a three-man core with All-Star forward Kevin Love, but sources say the Lakers continue to resist Minnesota’s attempts to build a trade offer around 2011’s No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams and center Nikola Pekovic.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Lakers ultimately trade Gasol before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 21, 2013, but it seems as though there are plenty of trade options out there with teams interested in taking on Gasol’s contract for the rest of this season and the next.
Other big-names mentioned in potential trades for Gasol over the past few weeks have been Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Hornets and the New York Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire. Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks has also been rumored to be a potential deal, but doesn’t seem to be very likely with the Hawks not expressing interest in Gasol.
Another more recent trade rumors involves Gasol heading to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani. It’s unclear how much interest the Lakers have in this deal in comparison to others mentioned above.
