Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Dwight Howard is still a Laker…for now.
Pau Gasol is still a Laker…for now.
In fact everyman that woke up as a Laker Thursday morning went to bed as a Laker Thursday night. Turns out Mitch Kupchak wasn’t just giving lip service. He really did mean what he said when the Lakers’ general manager proclaimed D12 was here to stay as the Lake Show stood pat at the NBA’s trade deadline.
No moves were made as the most disappointing team in the league will push forward with the same roster that has underachieved all season long.
Of course for some this is but a temporary stay of execution. GM Mitch was adamant in his stance on the team keeping Howard not only for the balance of this season but beyond as well. The same cannot be said for Gasol who was given no assurances his name would stay out of the rumor mill once the season ends.
For Kupchak the Dwightmare could be just beginning as the offseason will produce just as much drama as the regular season. Howard will officially enter the free agent market.
As for Gasol he’s likely entering his final days in Purple and Gold. Already Pau is pretty much done for the remainder of the season and he’s certainly going to be L.A.’s biggest trade asset. So it stands to reason he might have put on a Lakers jersey for the final time.
In the weeks leading up to today there was no shortage of trade talk involving Howard and Gasol. As of this morning there were even rumblings of the Lakers making smaller moves by unloading a Steve Blake, Darius Morris or even Devin Ebanks for a second round pick. None of those came to be so the Lakers you see are the ones you get…for now.