At this point in time, it seems clear that the Lakers’ front office is prepared to move the four-time All-Star in order to bring in some new blood and a new attitude in the frontcourt and/or backcourt in Los Angeles. The reports of Gasol being shipped back to Memphis surfaced on Sat. June 16 via Mitch Lawrence of NYDailyNews.com:
“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.”
The real question that has been raised with the most recent trade rumor involving the Lakers and Grizzlies is which player(s) Los Angeles will acquire in return.
The obvious choice would be Zach Randolph. With Randolph being the polar opposite of Gasol at the power forward position in terms of aggressiveness and shoot-first mentality, the veteran forward might be at the top of the Lakers’ wish list from the Grizzlies in return. Small forward Rudy Gay might also be an option that the Lakers could explore.
Grizzlies Trade Options for the Lakers
- Zach Randolph
- Rudy Gay
- OJ Mayo
- Tony Allen
- Mike Conley
It is uncertain how set the Grizzlies are in terms of bringing back Pau via trade to play alongside his brother, Marc. The combination in the frontcourt of the Gasol brothers would almost certainly be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. A taste of the Gasol brother’s dominance together in the same frontcourt was seen in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing on the Spanish national team.
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With Pau and Marc leading the way and rookie phenom Ricky Rubio running the show in the backcourt, Spain made it all the way to the gold medal game against Team USA. Despite being the underdog, Spain gave the U.S. a run for their money, and if it weren’t for a brilliant performance by Kobe Bryant, the Spanish may have very well won the gold medal.
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