Why the Los Angeles Lakers should bring back Pau Gasol

2. Rebuild the relationship

Following the Pau Gasol trade in 2008, things in Lakerland were as good as they could be. The Los Angeles Lakers were able to not only get Kobe Bryant to rescind his public trade demand, but the addition of Gasol helped the Lakers get to the NBA Finals in three consecutive seasons while winning two of them.

However, things did not end particularly well for the Lakers and Pau Gasol. When it was clear that the current roster was not capable of contending for a ring, the Lakers big man was continuously found in trade rumors. For all that the Spaniard brought to the team, bringing them out of their championship drought and into the finals, Gasol felt as if he was not wanted by the front office.

The beginning of the end truly came when the Los Angeles Lakers had agreed to trade Pau Gasol (along with fellow teammate Lamar Odom) to the Charlotte Hornets for superstar point guard Chris Paul. Unfortunately for all involved, David Stern, who was acting as the owner of the Hornets franchise, vetoed the trade.

Following a whirlwind of emotions immediately after the trade-that-never-happened, things began to fall apart for the Lakers. Lamar Odom would shortly want out of Los Angeles and was eventually traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Pau Gasol, like Odom, saw the writing on the wall. He would show his true professionalism by keeping silent and playing out his contract before departing for the Chicago Bulls.

Since Pau Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways things have gotten slightly better between the two sides, but a return to the purple and gold could go a long ways towards rekindling a soured relationship.