With the Los Angeles Lakers rebuilding their team to contend for a championship next season, they have brought in a lot of veterans in the squad. But they haven’t stopped searching for more players. One player who could be on his way out is Marc Gasol.
Gasol joined the Lakers last season, after a successful stint with the Toronto Raptors. Gasol won a championship in 2019 with Toronto and eventually came to LA to play for the Lakers.
For Gasol, it was a reunion with Los Angeles. The Lakers pulled off a trade to bring Marc’s brother Pau. As part of the package, the Lakers traded a draft pick to Memphis that turned out to be Marc Gasol.
Both Marc and Pau became superstars in Memphis and ended up winning championships in their careers. Marc came to the Lakers to win an NBA championship with the franchise that his brother won with.
But his first season was far from successful. Gasol got very few minutes during the regular season and lost his starting spot to Andre Drummond. And during the NBA playoffs, he wasn’t able to help the Lakers.
And it appears that Gasol’s spot on the Lakers’ roster is not confirmed. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are pursuing other centers in the market right now. Gasol is not guaranteed to return to the Lakers next season.
Stein also revealed that Gasol is intent on playing out the remaining year on his contract. But the Lakers may choose to use him as an asset.
“I’m hearing that Marc Gasol is not a lock to return to the Lakers, even after Gasol said following Spain’s quarterfinal loss to the United States in the Olympics that he intends to play out the final year of the two-year deal he signed with Los Angeles. It’s not yet clear if that means Gasol is poised to be set free to play elsewhere in the NBA or if he would ultimately opt to finish his career in his home country like brother Pau.”
The Lakers have only retained a few players from last season, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker, Wesley Matthews, and Marc Gasol. But could the big Spaniard leave the franchise? That remains to be seen.
