Lakers Rumors: Latest on Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant’s All-Star Game Dilemma

Despite the improved play of Pau Gasol, the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers are off to a 3-8 start in the month of January and find themselves in the Western Conference basement.

But with February set to bring the All-Star break, the midseason trade deadline and a potential Kobe return, there's still a lot for Lakers fans to look forward to this winter. 

Below we'll take a closer look at the latest buzz floating around L.A.

 

Memphis Grizzlies Not Interested in Pau Gasol Trade



There have been rumblings around the league that the Memphis Grizzlies would welcome a trade to reacquire Pau Gasol ahead of February's deadline. However, Steve Kyler of BasketballInsiders.com says that Memphis would only want Gasol if they could sign him as a free agent this summer because of his bloated contract:

And lets stop the Pau wants to be in Memphis talk. They want no part of his $19 million contract. If he'll sign there as a free agent on the cheap they'd take him, but they are not trading for him.

According to Spotrac.com, Gasol's 2013-14 base salary is scheduled to pay him a little less than $19.3 million. However, if he and the Lakers don't agree to an extension by season's end, he'll become a free agent this coming July.

Even though it appears that Memphis is out of the running, there are a number of other teams that could use the veteran's services. Gasol's improved play has boosted his trade value.



After a rough start to the Mike D'Antoni era in L.A., Gasol has found a way to make an impact on a nightly basis in the new year, averaging 20.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor through 11 games in the month of January. 

For the season, Gasol is averaging 16.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. Keep in mind that Gasol is still shooting a career low 46.3 percent from the field this ...

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