Lakers Rumors: Latest Updates on the Pau Gasol Saga

Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol's name has been bandied about in trade rumors for years now, but never this seriously.

Recent reports suggest the Lakers are trying to ship out Gasol because they have no intention of re-signing him this offseason. According to longtime Lakers reporter Kevin Ding in an ESPN 710 interview (h/t Ryan Ward of LakersNation.com), Gasol is in a situation where "the Lakers are not going to bring him back barring a miracle."

As of today, Gasol is still a Laker and made his return Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks after missing four of the past six games with an upper respiratory infection. Los Angeles lost for a season-high sixth straight time and the Lakers' playoff hopes are growing dimmer by the day in the tough Western Conference.

There's been much hubbub over the potential Gasol-Andrew Bynum swap, something that could provide the cap-strapped Lakers with tremendous salary relief if completed before January 7.

That is the deadline for when Cleveland must decide whether or not to pick up Bynum's $12.25 million salary for this season. The Cavs—or anyone else who has Bynum—will obviously decline and reap the resulting cap space.

However, there are now numerous hitches to that deal. According to Mark Medina of InsidetheLakers.com, Los Angeles has no desire to bring back the erratic Bynum:

One, the Lakers have no desire to bring back Bynum. His role in bringing two NBA championships with the Lakers was soured with behavior issues before ultimately being part of a four-team traded that brought Dwight Howard to the Lakers last season. Bynum was also indefinitely suspended by the Cavaliers for conduct detrimental to the team. Bynum has only averaged 8.4 points on 41.9 percent shooting and 5.3 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Secondly, the Lakers aren’t keen on the deal even if it would involve immediately waiving Bynum and saving u...

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