Before Pau Gasol went down with a groin injury recently, the Los Angeles Lakers were in trade talks to send the two-time NBA champion to the division rival Phoenix Suns.
These trade talks stalled due to Gasol’s latest injury, but it appears the two teams are expected to resume talks once again according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News:
“The Lakers were open to trading Pau Gasol until they couldn’t pry one of Phoenix’s top draft picks for this June away from the Suns. Phoenix could be getting No. 1 picks from Minnesota and Washington, and the Lakers are seeking one of those prime assets. Even as Gasol misses the next 10 days or so with a groin injury, the two teams are expected to resume talks.”
With Gasol in the last year of his deal with the Lakers and seemingly on his way out in free agency this summer anyway, the veteran center being dealt before the trade deadline is more and more likely. The latest injury has been a bump in the road for the Lakers in their attempts to move the four-time All-Star, but a deal still seems like it could come to fruition with the Suns or another team.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are another potential landing spot for Gasol with the recent trade rumors involving Anderson Varejao. The Cavs will be one of the most active teams at the deadline and almost acquired Gasol earlier in the season in exchange for Andrew Bynum.
With a little more than a week left before the buzzer sounds on the deadline, anything can happen with new trade rumors involving Gasol likely to emerge. The Cavs or Suns may be Gasol’s next team, but another team may get involved.
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