Pau Gasol Wants To Stay With Lakers Past Next Season

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Sat Aug 3, 2013 6:09 pm

Pau Gasol will make $19.3 million in the final year on his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he wants to stay with the organization past its end.

"I would love to play for the franchise that I love playing for, that I'm proud to be a part of," Gasol said. "It would be great to continue to play for the Lakers."

Gasol believes his knees are feeling healthy.

Via Eric Pincus/Los Angeles Times

Fresh360Waves · Post #2 » by **Fresh360Waves** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 12:59 am

All depends on what he does this season. If he stays healthy, I say why not? He'd be willing to take less money.

inquisitive · Post #3 » by **inquisitive** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 1:40 am

pau can still play and be very productive...lots of teams will be seeking him out and paying him very good dough.

holla3mikeg · Post #4 » by **holla3mikeg** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 4:38 am

They should trade him before its too late and he ends up winning them too many games. If Kobe is going to miss a lot of time, they should be in full tank mode. Pau is still great, imo and increases their chances of winning games. Signing Kaveman and Nick Young should help produce lots of bad losses, but Pau will negatie some of that. They should trade him for a young guy attached to a big, worthless contract that also expires. For example, trade Pau to the Jazz for Kanter, Evans and Biedrins/Jefferson. Kanter could come in and play big minutes after Kaveman goes down and Evans has some talent and is cheap. Jefferson/Biedrins both expire so it wouldn't hurt the Lakers' 2014 cap space. Although, they could just keep Pau, rest him a lot, and re-sign him over the cap next year, using Bird rights.

justrob7 · Post #5 » by **justrob7** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 1:37 pm

inquisitive wrote:pau can still play and be very productive...lots of teams will be seeking him out and paying him very good dough.

Fresh360Waves wrote:All depends on what he does this season. If he stays healthy, I say why not? He'd be willing to take less money.

Throw a vet-min his way, just to feel it out...then retract and act like it was a joke when he flips out.

captlopez0012 · Post #6 » by **captlopez0012** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 2:57 pm

pau deserves to be rewarded for his loyalty after all these years. obviously he wont be making 20 mil/yr on his next contract. not many players would have put up with all the trade rumors and lack of appreciation. plus, he would be a recruiting tool for other international players.

EdAram21 · Post #7 » by **EdAram21** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 3:10 pm

STAY.

Fresh360Waves · Post #8 » by **Fresh360Waves** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 9:11 pm

holla3mikeg wrote:They should trade him before its too late and he ends up winning them too many games. If Kobe is going to miss a lot of time, they should be in full tank mode. Pau is still great, imo and increases their chances of winning games. Signing Kaveman and Nick Young should help produce lots of bad losses, but Pau will negatie some of that. They should trade him for a young guy attached to a big, worthless contract that also expires. For example, trade Pau to the Jazz for Kanter, Evans and Biedrins/Jefferson. Kanter could come in and play big minutes after Kaveman goes down and Evans has some talent and is cheap. Jefferson/Biedrins both expire so it wouldn't hurt the Lakers' 2014 cap space. Although, they could just keep Pau, rest him a lot, and re-sign him over the cap next year, using Bird rights.

That'd be pointless. Utah is no where near being a playoff team. They're virtually rebuilding. They're not gonna give up Kanter who's developing into a good center.

holla3mikeg · Post #9 » by **holla3mikeg** » Sun Aug 4, 2013 11:51 pm

Fresh360Waves wrote:
holla3mikeg wrote:They should trade him before its too late and he ends up winning them too many games. If Kobe is going to miss a lot of time, they should be in full tank mode. Pau is still great, imo and increases their chances of winning games. Signing Kaveman and Nick Young should help produce lots of bad losses, but Pau will negatie some of that. They should trade him for a young guy attached to a big, worthless contract that also expires. For example, trade Pau to the Jazz for Kanter, Evans and Biedrins/Jefferson. Kanter could come in and play big minutes after Kaveman goes down and Evans has some talent and is cheap. Jefferson/Biedrins both expire so it wouldn't hurt the Lakers' 2014 cap space. Although, they could just keep Pau, rest him a lot, and re-sign him over the cap next year, using Bird rights.

That'd be pointless. Utah is no where near being a playoff team. They're virtually rebuilding. They're not gonna give up Kanter who's developing into a good center.

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That was merely an example of something that the Lakers could explore. If the Lakers proposed that deal, I'm sure they would consider it. It's not as if star players are lining up to play in Utah. You get a star when you can sometimes. Another team they should look at is Houston. They need a PF and have long coveted Gasol. Asik is a really good young center, but Lin will probably need to be thrown in as well. Both Lin and Asik have a cap number of 8.4, respectively. That's a combined 16.8 million, which would work in bringing back Pau and his 19 million expiring. Why for Houston? They get a true starter at PF, who can also play the 5 while Dwight sits. Plus they get rid of Lin and his contract. They already have Brooks and Beverly, that are as good as Lin, for much cheaper. Some people will point to last year and say Pau and Dwight don't fit, but it was Kobe that didn't fit with Dwight, moreso than Pau. If it doesn't work, let Pau expire and re-up in free agency 2014. Why for LA? They get a productive center in Asik, who is much younger than Pau. Lin isn't worth his contract in production, but he is an asset off the court. This will be a bad year for the Lakers, it will be tough to generate excitement. With a large Asian population in LA, it would smart to tap into the Asian market, which is huge. Lin on the Lakers would yield tons of income. Even with those guys under contract, LA would still have cap space for a max free agent.
Lin, Kobe, Melo, FA, Asik
Brooks or Beverly, Harden, Parsons, Pau, Dwight. Not bad.

Fresh360Waves · Post #10 » by **Fresh360Waves** » Mon Aug 5, 2013 7:58 am

holla3mikeg wrote:
Fresh360Waves wrote:
holla3mikeg wrote:They should trade him before its too late and he ends up winning them too many games. If Kobe is going to miss a lot of time, they should be in full tank mode. Pau is still great, imo and increases their chances of winning games. Signing Kaveman and Nick Young should help produce lots of bad losses, but Pau will negatie some of that. They should trade him for a young guy attached to a big, worthless contract that also expires. For example, trade Pau to the Jazz for Kanter, Evans and Biedrins/Jefferson. Kanter could come in and play big minutes after Kaveman goes down and Evans has some talent and is cheap. Jefferson/Biedrins both expire so it wouldn't hurt the Lakers' 2014 cap space. Although, they could just keep Pau, rest him a lot, and re-sign him over the cap next year, using Bird rights.

That'd be pointless. Utah is no where near being a playoff team. They're virtually rebuilding. They're not gonna give up Kanter who's developing into a good center.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
That was merely an example of something that the Lakers could explore. If the Lakers proposed that deal, I'm sure they would consider it. It's not as if star players are lining up to play in Utah. You get a star when you can sometimes. Another team they should look at is Houston. They need a PF and have long coveted Gasol. Asik is a really good young center, but Lin will probably need to be thrown in as well. Both Lin and Asik have a cap number of 8.4, respectively. That's a combined 16.8 million, which would work in bringing back Pau and his 19 million expiring. Why for Houston? They get a true starter at PF, who can also play the 5 while Dwight sits. Plus they get rid of Lin and his contract. They already have Brooks and Beverly, that are as good as Lin, for much cheaper. Some people will point to last year and say Pau and Dwight don't fit, but it was Kobe that didn't fit with Dwight, moreso than Pau. If it doesn't work, let Pau expire and re-up in free agency 2014. Why for LA? They get a productive center in Asik, who is much younger than Pau. Lin isn't worth his contract in production, but he is an asset off the court. This will be a bad year for the Lakers, it will be tough to generate excitement. With a large Asian population in LA, it would smart to tap into the Asian market, which is huge. Lin on the Lakers would yield tons of income. Even with those guys under contract, LA would still have cap space for a max free agent.
Lin, Kobe, Melo, FA, Asik
Brooks or Beverly, Harden, Parsons, Pau, Dwight. Not bad.

I see the direction you're going here. Houston would be a good destination however I wouldn't say the Lakers will be very bad this upcoming season. They just may surprise a lot of people. They addressed their athleticism problems from last year by adding Nick Young and Wes Johnson who will help on the wing. Johnson is a good perimeter defender and Young (although not a strong defender as Wes), helps out Kobe in the scoring department at SF. Lakers have been lacking a scoring SF for quite some time. At best, the Lakers may barely squeeze into a #8 seed or #7 if they're lucky. But to say they'll be "very bad" like many are saying, is going a bit too far.