Trading for Marc Gasol is in the Lakers’ realm of possibility

Tensions in Memphis have risen between Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies. If the two sides were to part ways, the Lakers are capable of taking Gasol on.

Things have been getting interesting in Memphis. The Grizzlies and their star center, Marc Gasol, have had some tension in recent days. While the future is unclear for the Grizzlies, the possibility of Gasol being traded is higher now than it ever has been. While a trade may still be a bit far-fetched, the Lakers can start as early candidates.

Things are going haywire for the Memphis Grizzlies. The team is currently riding a nine-game losing streak after starting the year 7-4. This same Grizzlies team that defeated the Golden State Warriors to move to 2-0 are now 7-13 and 12th in the Western Conference.

The speculation around Gasol all started with the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Head Coach David Fizdale benched Gasol during the fourth quarter in a closely contested game. Following the game, Gasol was not shy about sharing his feelings with the move.

This prompted the Grizzlies to fire Fizdale, although General Manager Chris Wallace stated that the move was not the reason for termination. Instead, it was the overall product.

This then led to a league executive stating that, per Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the termination did not rule out a Gasol trade. However, Wallace then responded to those reports in saying the Grizzlies would not trade Gasol nor Mike Conley (h/t Alec Nathan of Bleacher Report).

While there definitely is some confusion in Memphis, there should be no confusion in LA. Should the Lakers get a chance to acquire Gasol they should pull the trigger. Luckily for them, the perfect trade is possible. Twitter user, @FrankTalkLA, brought the trade scenario into the light.

While talent wise the deal is in favor of the Lakers, both sides get a fair return from this trade. Although this does not fit the 2018 offseason narrative that has been set forth, it does get the ball rolling for the Lakers to become relevant once more.

This move is enticing for the Grizzlies for the multiple things it accomplishes. First, the team gets to clear some salary cap space by acquiring the expiring deal of Brook Lopez. With Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons alone accounting for $53 million of cap space, any added room would be nice.

Lopez is no snooze, either. Lopez would allow the team to remain relevant and may even give them a resigning discount were the Grizzlies looking to bring him back. If not, the Grizzlies are getting a young piece in Julius Randle that they can turn their finances towards in the future.

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Randle is a restricted free agent in the 2018 offseason. With the Lakers likely not matching his contract demands, Randle may walk anyways. In this deal, the Lakers can dangle Randle’s high ceiling over the Grizzlies’ head as bait.

Los Angeles then gets the first star puzzle piece in Marc Gasol. Although the team would be forced to give up more young talent to trade Luol Deng, it may be worth it. Stars such as Paul George want to play with other stars. Already having Gasol in LA helps that cause.

Realistically, chances are that neither Randle nor Lopez will be Lakers next season anyways. Thus, Los Angeles may be best suited to get the ball in motion. Then, the team can build from this foundation to finally create the proverbial Los Angeles super team.

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Hey, the Lakers did trade Gasol for his brother, Pau, which in turn led them to two more NBA Championships. Perhaps Marc Gasol can come full circle for the Lakers and start the process of winning more.