I remember when Marc Gasol first came to the NBA. He was a little overweight and did not seem to have any real skill and quickly earned the tag of being “Pau’s little brother.” Marc was drafted by the L.A. Lakers but traded to Memphis for his older brother. Pau helped the Lakers get to three NBA Finals in a row, winning two of them and Marc was stuck in Memphis.
But in the in the years since the younger Gasol brother was drafted, he has tipped the scales a little bit. And not in the way you would have thought when Gasol first came to the NBA.
Marc is now thought of as one of the best young centers in the game, and Pau’s game has started to fall off.
Pau has always had the reputation of being soft, but he was able to make up for it with some solid skill play. Now his numbers are really starting to drop. We cannot be sure yet if that is because he is getting up there in age (he will be 32 in July) or if it is because he just does not mesh well with the Lakers anymore.
The Lakers’ trio of superstars — Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum — has been going back and forth at each other on and off the court. There is a lot more drama in L.A. today than there is success.
Now it seems like the Lakers are looking to blow up the whole team and see if they cannot get some new faces around Kobe Bryant to give him one last shot at a title. The rumors have L.A. trying to trade Bynum to Orlando for Dwight Howard, but what about Gasol?
Bulls.com writer Sam Smith seems to think Gasol would be a good fit in Chicago. The Bulls are having their own little crisis after the injury to Derrick Rose seemingly took away their real chance at a championship. There is no telling how Rose will recover from this injury, but the Bulls could already be looking at changing things up.
Smith thinks that a Gasol for Luol Deng trade might be beneficial for both teams. The Bulls would get Gasol, giving them a more skilled player in the post and the Lakers would get a hard working small forward to take some pressure off Kobe, which they desperately need. Obviously there would be a few more pieces involved and some salary cap figures to work out, but as the base for a trade, I like it.
I think we have seen Gasol play his last game in purple and gold. The friction is just too much for one team to handle.
Gasol isn’t tapped out yet though. He has still got a few good years left.
His value is low because of his recent struggles but if he keeps the right mindset, he could really make a comeback. Whether that is in a Bulls uniform or somewhere else, that remains to be seen.
