Lakers Will Listen to All Trade Offers, Not just for Gasol.
By Fern Rea
Feb 1, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16) against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center. The Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 111-100. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
A report that a person that is in the position to make personal decisions for an NBA roster with the goal of putting together the best possible team that can contend for a title has been fielding calls related to trade offers for any one of its players was released yesterday.
Is this a revelation? Is this news?
Sam Amico who covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for Fox Sports Ohio reported that the Los Angeles Lakers were “fielding plenty of calls” for Pau Gasol. The report didn’t elaborate further. In fact, it was a very short blurb within numerous trade rumors related to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which makes sense since that is the team that he covers.
The Lakers taking calls for Pau Gasol headline got retweeted, re-reported, recycled and referenced everywhere.
The report is grossly misleading and completely unfair to Pau Gasol, a player that loves being a Los Angeles Laker and has been the utmost professional a midst nonstop trade speculation throughout the last few years of his decorated Lakers career.
When he was traded to New Orleans in the 3 team trade that temporally sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, and then nixed by the commissioner, Pau went right back to work, preparing for the upcoming Lakers season. At the same time, the other Laker player involved in that same trade, Lamar Odom, pouted and then demanded to be traded.
Of course the Lakers are going to get calls for Pau Gasol because he’s pretty darn good and can help a lot of teams in this league. The Lakers are getting calls for other players on their roster as well, not just Pau.
Mitch Kupchak is trying to improve the Lakers roster; therefore, he is listening to any and all trade offers for any of the players on the Lakers roster because that is his job. Now, he might listen to trade offers, and then swiftly hang up the phone when he gets some ridiculous trade proposal from a GM, but he’s taking their call.
A report of the Lakers taking calls for Pau Gasol is as newsworthy as reporting that the sun will come up tomorrow in Los Angeles. That doesn’t mean that the sun isn’t coming up everywhere else in the world too. The sun is not exclusively shining on Los Angeles and shunning the rest of the world; however, personally living in the great city of Los Angeles I wouldn’t blame the sun if it did. It just not news and reporting it as such can lead people to infer the report incorrectly, including Pau Gasol.
Now, if the report had been that the Lakers are actively shopping Gasol or that they were looking to move him by a particular self-imposed deadline, then, that’s a story. But that is not what is happening here.
Pau Gasol might get traded if the right deal comes along. The percentage chance that he gets traded will significantly change depending on whether Dwight Howard resigns with the Lakers or bolts for another team in free agency. Although, I personally believe the percentage chance is low either way.
The Lakers are looking to get better, both in the short and long term. If a trade offer comes along for any of the Lakers players that accomplishes that in the opinion of Mitch Kupchak, he’ll pull the trigger. That has always been the case. Except, in typical Kupchak fashion, you and I won’t hear about until the deal is nearly done.
You didn’t know the Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol trade was coming until it was done.
You didn’t know the Bynum to Phily and Howard to the Lakers deal was coming until it was done.
You didn’t know about those deals until Kupchak wanted you to know.
Don’t expect to know anything different from Kupchak as it relates to a trade for Gasol.
You can reach me at the my Twitter handle, @fullcourtfern, to discuss this article, anything Lakers or NBA related, or if you want to invite me to go grab a beer somewhere in L.A. You’re paying of course.
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