Los Angeles Lakers Reportedly Spoke to Pau Gasol About a Possible Trade
As soon as Mike D’Antoni was hired to coach the Lakers, fans and media began predicting that Pau Gasol wouldn’t fit in his high-octane offensive system, which would eventually lead to a trade. According to ESPN, the Lakers recently broached the subject with their embattled (and injured) big fella: “Gasol is sitting not because a trade involving the former four-time All-Star is in the works, according to multiple league sources. However, a source said that Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has recently spoken to Gasol’s representatives and the gist of the conversation was that if Gasol is unable to adjust to D’Antoni’s system, the team will have no choice but to search for possible trade scenarios. Their game against the Rockets is the start of a particularly tough stretch for the Lakers — eight of their next 10 are on the road. L.A. is 1-4 away from Staples Center this sason. [...] Kobe Bryant said he could relate to Gasol’s struggles, telling reporters after Tuesday’s shootaround that he had to make a similar decision to sit out late last season when tenosynovitis in his left shin caused him to miss seven games. ‘We talked about it a little bit,’ Bryant said. ‘It’s difficult for him, obviously, because he doesn’t have the explosiveness that he had, so a lot of it I’m assuming has to do with his being injured physically and not being able to get up and down the court and perform at a high level, which could lead to some frustration. I dealt with it with the shin. You’re kind of out there playing around and playing and you kind of wind up being a little bit of a shell of yourself because of your physical limitations.’”
