Rumor Has It: Pau Gasol for Anyone

Pau Gasol was traded this season; yes, he is still a Laker and no, the trade that would have sent him to Houston and would have brought Chris Paul did not go through, but the effects of that are still being felt.
It seems that physically, Gasol is there. He has produced solid numbers this entire season. But when it comes down to the mental aspect of the game, Gasol might as well be in another city playing for another team.
Gasol’s name constantly comes up in trade rumors. Two of note are a trade with Minnesota Timberwolves and the Chicago Bulls.
The trade with the Timerwolves would send Gasol to Minnesota in exchange for Los Angeles native Derrick Williams and draft picks. The trade would give Gasol the opportunity to play alongside fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio. If the trade were to occur, the Lakers would be sending a direct message to the fans and to the rest of the roster that they are no longer in the chase for this year’s Larry O’Brien; they would clearly be in rebuilding mode. This idea seems absurd both in the short and long term scheme of things. Yes, the Lakers would have a solid developmental player on their roster with outstanding outside, but that would come at the cost of Kobe’s cost productive years. Instead of continuing the chase for ring number 6, Kobe would be stuck putting up monster numbers, as he usually does when their is a lack of talent on the team, but not winning many games. Think of it as Kobe being in the position Steve Nash is currently in.
The idea of sending him to Chicago to complement Derrick Rose in exchange for Carlos Boozer has also been floating around recently. Again, the short and long term effects of this trade, if it were executed, would be minimal at best. They key for the Lakers in this case would be to find a traditional power forward to maximize Andrew Bynum’s potential to be one of the most dominant centers in a league that currently lacks a depth of them. While more reasonable, this trade also seems flawed and unlikely to happen.
What the Lakers truly need is depth; their bench, while they have shown glimpses of brilliance, lack the consistence and talent to propel a team like this deep into the playoffs. The Lakers should be looking elsewhere instead of putting one of their own on the spot. Gasol himself has expressed his dislike and discomfort of being invlved in all the trade talk. It has gotten to the point that Kobe Bryant, on Sunday after the loss against the Phoenix Suns, told reporters that he is sick of the talks.” if they’re going to do it, do it already. If you’re not going to do it, come out and say you’re not going to do it,” said Bryant of the situation. And he has a valid point. The uneasiness that comes with being part of trade talks often comes at a price. Looking back at the Chris Paul trade that wasn’t, Lamar Odom felt the effects of it by ultimately being traded. Gasol possibly being dealt may still be hurting his production, and is in turn damaging team chemistry, which affects everyone on the roster.