He survived the Los Angeles Lakers' attempt to acquire a top-tier point guard. He then survived the team's acquisition of Dwight Howard. Now, all that makes sense is for him to survive the latest bout of rumors that have him, once again, packing his bags.
Gasol has been no stranger to trade rumors, nor have we been strangers to perpetuating them. If he wasn't almost traded to the New Orleans Hornets for Chris Paul, he was being dangled in front of the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo. Let's not pretend like he wasn't readily available to the Orlando Magic in the Lakers' quest to obtain Howard either.
Now, as Gasol continues to struggle to find a niche within Mike D'Antoni's offense, he finds himself in the exact same situation, save for a specific destination.
Los Angeles' big man is currently averaging 13.4 points on 43.4 percent shooting from the floor—both career lows. He and D'Antoni have publicly conflicting viewpoints on how he should be used, and despite the easygoing nature of each, it's clear there is cause for concern.
But is there cause to deal him? Should the Lakers actively be shopping the four-time All-Star?
Absolutely not, and as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times notes, they aren't:
The Lakers aren't actively looking to trade Gasol right now, The Times has learned, because they want to see what happens when Nash returns from a small fracture in his leg.
After that, there are two important dates: Dec. 15 is when teams can deal players they signed during the off-season, opening up about 20% more of the NBA's player pool; and Feb. 21, the league's trade deadline.
Could Gasol very well make another cameo on the chopping block prior to the trade deadline? Of course. This is the NBA, after all, where only a handful of players actually are untouchable.
That said, there isn't much for the Lakers to gain...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
