Dec 23, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Kaman (9) and center Pau Gasol (16) sit on the bench against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns won 117-90. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
With rumors swirling, the Lakers surprisingly stayed put, finding no deal for any of their big men mentioned most in trade discussions. Leading up to the deadline, all three of Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman, and Jordan Hill were rumored to have interest from a host of teams. However, no trade could materialize and the Lakers were left with all three big men and just one trade on the books.
The Lakers were not able to complete deals for Hill or Kaman or Pau before noon, per sources
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 20, 2014
Gasol was the most prominent name on the trade block, with multiple blockbuster deals discussed. However, the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers were the most prominent discussions, with neither discussing any deadline deals. For what feels like the thousandth time in his career, Gasol escaped trade rumors and will finish the team with the Lakers.
For Hill and Kaman, both were seen as quality role players off the bench with Hill drawing serious interest heading into the day. However, the Lakers asking price was reportedly too high, with some reports stating the Lakers were looking for a first-rounder for Hill. Nevertheless, teams with player exceptions like New Orleans and Brooklyn couldn’t even strike deals for the Lakers to strictly dump salary.
Kaman was the last rumored Laker to be dealt, with a deal with Philadelphia the last remaining hope for the Lakers to net some return for their role players. However, the 76ers turned to the other Los Angeles team for big man help, with Byron Mullens going to Philly in return for one of the nine second round picks they had accumulated.
The Lakers, therefore, could only make a deal with Golden State for Steve Blake. However, it gave them two reclamation projects in Kent Bazemore and Marshon Brooks, both of which you can read about here. The Lakers, with 15 men on the roster, will likely not make any more moves, barring injury (which actually isn’t saying much).