Lakers Rumors: Hawks Turned Down Pau Gasol, Josh Smith Trade

The Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks have been involved in trade rumors for quite some time and most reports indicated that the teams would swap Pau Gasol and Josh Smith. The Lakers were looking to add some youth to their roster while the Hawks wanted to change things up and trade away a player who wanted out.

However, it seems as though that deal has died down after the Hawks ended talks. A trade involving Gasol and Smith would have involved others players, and reports indicate that the Hawks believed the Lakers were asking for too much, CBS Sports.

In addition to Johnson, the Hawks have been open to moving forward Josh Smith though they’ve resisted offers so far. Apparently the Hawks balked at a potential deal with the Lakers for Pau Gasol because L.A. wanted another major piece to go along with Smith. That would leave the Hawks with less than six players under contract, less talent, and no short-term cap relief because of the $38 million and two years remaining on Gasol’s contract.

Even though Smith wants to leave the Hawks, the front-office does not want to make a move just to get rid of the athletic forward. Atlanta would like a balanced transaction and they have decided that the Lakers were not offering that. If this deal cannot come back to life, the Lakers will be missing out on a future NBA All-Star

 

You May Also Like

Despite Faint Glimmer of Hope, Lakers Must Look to Future

It’s been about twelve hours since the end of Game 3 in…

NBA Commissioner David Stern Says Flopping is a Concern in the NBA

Throughout the first round of the NBA playoffs, there has been a…

Lakers News: Kobe Bryant Says Winning A Championship Without Shaquille O’Neal Was ‘Critical’ To His Legacy

When they were together with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal formed arguably the greatest…

Lakers News: Luke Walton Believes L.A. Must ‘Fix The Defense’ To Start Winning

As the Los Angeles Lakers are set to kick off training camp for the 2017-18 season…