The Los Angeles Lakers have officially ended their relationship with Marc Gasol. The younger Gasol brother did not have the same kind of lasting impact as his brother, as he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies after just one season with the team.
The Lakers traded a future second-round pick and cash to the Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin. The Grizzlies are going to work out a buyout with Gasol.
Why did the Lakers do this? It made more sense for the team to trade Gasol and a future asset essentially for nothing as it saves the team money. While the Lakers could have bought him out, they still would have paid a pretty penny since they are so far ahead of the luxury fact.
The deal saves the Lakers $10,000,000 and opens up a roster spot for the team to pursue another player. Prior to the Gasol trade, the Lakers roster sat at 14 players. The team was saving the 15th roster spot for an in-season move, effectively creating a roster spot to use soon.
The only logical move for the Los Angeles Lakers to make is to sign James Ennis.
The Los Angeles Lakers have already been connected to James Ennis and are one of several teams that are reportedly interested in the three and D wing. While Ennis is not going to change the course of the Lakers’ 2021-22 season, he does add wing depth to a team that could use one more wing.
There are other options on the market, such as JJ Redick, but at this point, Ennis makes more sense. Redick is a better three-point shooter but Ennis is a far better defender and fits into an area of need. Guard is extremely stacked after adding Rajon Rondo.
Some might be confused: so what about Wang Zhelin? Here is the thing: the Los Angeles Lakers traded for his draft rights. He is not in the NBA. If he were to come to the NBA then he would join the Lakers. Zhelin is not joining the Lakers.
Why can we confidently say that? Because the Grizzlies drafted him in 2016 and he had five years to come over to the NBA. He is going to make more money being a star in China instead of signing a G League deal with the Lakers. Even if he does opt to go the G League route, the Lakers would still have the roster spot.
That spot should naturally go to Ennis. Unless Ennis wants to go somewhere else, and his Twitter activity indicates that he wants to go to the Lakers, then he is likely going to be the next player to put on the purple and gold.
It is the logical thing to do.