There will be pressure aplenty, but arguably none greater than that heaped on the shoulders of Pau Gasol. The star that at one time thrust the Lakers into championship contention now looks a bit redundant standing next to Dwight Howard. Gasol will undoubtedly have to spend much of his season showing that he belongs within this particular constellation of talent. None of Gasol's new Laker teammates are particularly difficult players to play with, but it's the collective arrangement in L.A.—and in particular, the overlap with the skill set of Howard—that could make Gasol tradeable down the line.
If it comes down to that, the Lakers should have plenty of options. Gasol may not have been in top form last season, but the reasons he could be potentially valuable to a trade partner are no different from the reasons he made L.A. such a formidable opponent in years past. His post work is polished. His passing is elite for his position. His defense is sound. He may not always be what coaches, teammates and the Laker faithful want him to be, but Gasol is nevertheless an incredibly effective big man capable of bolstering a high-functioning offense.
He just may not be the perfect fit for this particular job, and whether or not that matters will be entirely up to the Lakes themselves. Perhaps L.A. would be better served if Gasol were replaced with a floor-spacer in the Ryan Anderson mold, but it's important that we don't forget the value in redundancy—particularly when Howard's health is still an open question.
There have been no reports indicating that Howa...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
