UPDATE 12 PM (11/22/20):
Marc Gasol has reportedly narrowed his options between the Lakers and the Raptors. According to both The Athletic’s Shams Charania and the New York Times’ Marc Stein, the Lakers are exploring avenues to increase their financial offer for Gasol. Because the team can only hand out veteran minimum deals at the moment, the only way this could happen is via a sign-and-trade with JaVale McGee the likely sacrifice by LA to make it work. McGee would have to either be moved to the Raptors to replace Gasol or be moved to a third team.
UPDATE: (11/22/20):
The Los Angeles Lakers were initially reported to be targeting Marc Gasol as a replacement for Dwight Howard, only for the Lakers to surprisingly sign Montrezl Harrell from the Clippers to a two-year, $19 million deal. Still, Harrell leaves much to be desired in regards to defense, with the Lakers reportedly still being seen as “serious suitors” for Gasol even after the Harrell signing (per Shams Charania/The Athletic).
The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as a serious suitor for Marc Gasol, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Championship chase and L.A. are appealing for Gasol.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 22, 2020
The Lakers don’t have much to offer Gasol aside from the veteran minimum, unless they find a way to move JaVale McGee and his $4.2 million contract.
Original story (11/20/20):
Early on in free agency Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost Dwight Howard in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers. It happened in a bizarre way, as the reports first said that Howard had re-signed with the Lakers, with Howard himself even confirming it from his own Twitter before both tweets were deleted. Now, less than an hour later, it is being reported by Marc Stein and The New York Times that the Lakers have now targeted Marc Gasol in response.
Marc Gasol has emerged as a free-agent target for the Lakers to fill the void created by Dwight Howard's departure to Philadelphia, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 21, 2020
Marc Gasol has averaged 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in his 14 years of NBA play, most recently playing with the Toronto Raptors after he was traded their in the middle of the 2018-19 season. This most recent season, he averaged 7.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per his 44 games played (started in all but one of those games). It, of course, has to be acknowledged that this move would be pretty cool in retrospect to the fact that Marc is the younger brother of Lakers’ legend Pau Gasol. It would be absolutely beautiful to see Gasol on the back of a jersey again, and Marc would fill a hole that the Lakers definitely need to fill with Dwight Howard gone.
Marc Gasol would figure to be a great fit next to LeBron James, and even Anthony Davis as a stretch big who shot 38.5% from three on 3.4 attempts per game. He is 35 years old, but he definitely could play at or below his 26.4 minutes per game that he did last season for the Raptors.
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