The Los Angeles Lakers revamping of their roster may not be complete. There is a chance that by the time training camp rolls around that there are only three players from last year’s team, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who are with the team heading into the 2021-22 NBA season.
There is a fourth, Marc Gasol, but his future with the team is up in the air. Gasol committed to returning to the Lakers for the last season of his contract during the Olympics, but things have seemed to change recently.
According to Marc Stein, Gasol is no longer a lock to return to the Lakers. Turning 37 in January, Gasol could very well be contemplating retirement. Or is he looking to continue his NBA career with another team? He is under contract with the Lakers, so they could look to trade him away.
Los Angeles is expected to be where DeAndre Jordan lands following his trade to the Detroit Pistons and subsequent buyout. Could that be why Gasol is no longer a lock for the Lakers’ roster?
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This season, Jordan would make 10 new faces on the roster, eight of which are on veteran’s minimum deals. After acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards and signing Kendrick Nunn’s exception, minimum deals are all Rob Pelinka had left, but he filled out the roster masterfully.
Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and Malik Monk signed minimum deals. If Gasol is moved, another one could be on the horizon.
One team that could look into landing Gasol is the Utah Jazz. What might a deal between the teams look like? Let’s take a look here.