Tag: Marc Gasol

Pau Gasol hopes he can join Lakers, knows he’s not in a ‘demanding’ position

The former two-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers is hoping to come back to the NBA and play with his brother, Marc.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA champion Pau Gasol has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons, keeping him away from the game he loves and one in which he became a likely first-ballot Hall of Fame player. Gasol has not yet let go of the dream of playing again in the NBA and after the loss of his friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant, as well as the decision of his brother to join the Los Angeles Lakers, he has his sights set on a return to the purple and gold. However, he knows that given the fact he hasn’t played since 2019 and is 40 years old, he isn’t in high demand.

“There is meaning and history there,” said Gasol, who won titles with the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010 in an interview with ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “I’m not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother [Marc] is there, even more special. But I’m not in a position now to be very demanding. I don’t have 10 offers on the table.”

Gasol still believes he can contribute. And playing alongside his brother would be an added benefit to playing out the final days of a great career.

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NBA: 2020-21 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Who will be helping LeBron James and Anthony Davis in their quest to defend the NBA championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off of their first championship in over 10 years and their 17th championship as a franchise, they are looking to repeat as champions with an even stronger roster in 2020-21. Of course, everyone knows their two stars will be major factors in their season but who are the other Lakers? Here we hope to take care of any questions you may have and for the sake of organization, we are going through the roster in alphabetical order.

The Lakers’ first preseason game is Dec. 11 and their first game of the regular season is on Dec. 22 against the Los Angeles Clippers, where members of last season’s team will receive their 2020 championship rings.

Without further preamble, here’s a look at the Lakers for this compressed 72-game schedule.

Lakers deal for Marc Gasol $5.3 million for two years, no options

According to reports, Gasol’s deal is going to end at the same time as LeBron James’ contract ends.

The Los Angeles Lakers officially made the deal for free agent center Marc Gasol on Tuesday, finalizing another major move to their frontcourt this offseason. Also, according to reports, the deal will keep Gasol on the team for the next two seasons, which just so happens to lineup exactly with the length of LeBron’s contract.

Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium reported on Tuesday that Gasol’s deal is worth $5.3 million and will take him through next season with the Lakers. There are no options for player or team on the second season, so he will be with them barring trade or injury.

Gasol helps the Lakers majorly with both his size, basketball IQ, and passing ability. He’s also developed his 3-point range more in recent years and still has some moves in the post when he gets the opportunity. He’s a much better offensive playmaker than either Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee, though he is not as good as a finisher. However, Gasol should help LeBron James in sharing the load when it comes to helping create quality shots for Anthony Davis and the rest of the Lakers.

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Report: Golden State Warriors showing interest in signing veteran center Marc Gasol

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Golden State Warriors are one of the teams showing interest in former Raptors center Marc Gasol.

After reportedly signing former Boston Celtics guard Brad Wanamaker to a one-year contract, the Golden State Warriors have shifted their plans to the frontcourt market in free agency.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Warriors are showing interest in veteran big man Marc Gasol. However, the Warriors will have competition to bring the former Defensive Player of the Year. The Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors have also shown interest in signing Gasol.

Via @wojespn on Twitter:

Gasol spent the last season and a half playing with the Raptors, averaging 8.1 points on 44.2% shooting from the field with 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. During his 70 game stint in Toronto, the three-time All-Star shot 40.0% from beyond the arc on 2.9 attempts per game.

During Toronto’s run in the Orlando Bubble, Gasol tallied seven points on 46.5% shooting with 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in eight games. The 6-foot-11 center struggled in Toronto’s postseason campaign. Over 11 playoff tilts at Disney World, Gasol registered six points on 39.1% shooting from the field.

Against the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, Gasol started all six games, registering 12 points on 44.7% shooting from the field with 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

With an impressive resume that includes an NBA championship and a spot on the All-NBA First Team, the 35-year-old could be a competent mentor to help oversee the development of Golden State’s recent No. 2 overall draft pick. At only 19-years-old, James Wiseman could learn from a veteran like Gasol.

Along with being able to knock down an open 3-pointer and the ability to defend the rim, Gasol could provide a level of veteran stability to Golden State’s frontcourt with Wiseman, Marquese Chriss and Kevon Looney.

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Trade idea: Thunder’s Steven Adams joins Toronto Raptors

If the Thunder are looking to salary dump Steven Adams, the Toronto Raptors could be an option with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol entering free agency.

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The two Toronto Raptors bigs, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol, are entering free agency.

A quick way to replace them with a starting center on a short-term deal is to trade for Steven Adams.

This trade isn’t exciting for the Thunder, but it does save $20 million in the payroll, which would certainly interest ownership.

The proposal

Thunder receive: Patrick McCaw, Stanley Johnson, 2023 second-round draft pick

Raptors receive: Steven Adams

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Why the Thunder do it

It’s a salary dump. A rebuilding team wouldn’t want to pay Adams $27.5 million, and this adds inexpensive depth, a future second-round pick and makes the Thunder’s draft pick next year more likely to be better.

McCaw and Johnson have not proven themselves to be productive NBA players, but the Thunder can still get a look at them for a year. Perhaps they can be used at the trade deadline to get more second-round picks. If not, they fill space on the depth chart for one year and then both parties move on.

It’s not exciting. It’s just the organization saving $20 million.

Why the Raptors do it

With Serge Ibaka testing free agency and rumors that Marc Gasol is returning to Spain to play for Barcelona, Toronto needs a new center.

They could re-sign Ibaka, but he may want a multi-year deal. There’s an important reason to not give a deal into 2021-22: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s contract is expiring after this season, and if he doesn’t re-sign with the Milwaukee Bucks on a supermax, the Raptors could make a run at the two-time MVP.

So they get Adams instead, who provides a good post presence on both ends of the court and can fit into the defensive scheme, and on a one-year deal is not a commitment.

The Raptors throw in McCaw and Johnson to trim a little more salary, and there’s the deal. A starting center on a one-year deal to replace their former bigs.

Why the Thunder don’t do it

This is very minimal return. Adams is a fan-favorite, and it’s important to keep players who mean something to a city. There’s a good chance that one more year of Adams is worth more than the second-round pick will be.

But is that worth the $20 million extra it would cost to keep him instead of the salary dump? If I’m in ownership’s shoes, I might lean no.

Why the Raptors don’t do it

Toronto is sitting at $86 million with a few needs: Yes, they need a center. But they also need to either re-sign Fred VanVleet or to replace him. They may have to use the mid-level exception in free agency on such a point guard, or use that No. 29 pick on one — maybe hope that Tyrell Terry is still around, or perhaps they like Cassius Winston enough to make him the backup — and hope that he’s ready for playoff time immediately.

Who says no?

The Raptors need a center, but they can find other ways to bolster the lineup without trading for Adams. Maybe they convince Ibaka to sign a one-year deal by loading him up with cash. That second point guard behind Lowry is also important; VanVleet has stepped up time and time again for Toronto.

Adams would help them, but the pieces Toronto would not be able to sign may be too much for the team to go through with it.

But it’s something to consider.

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3 observations: Tobias Harris, bench play well, Sixers fall to Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers finished off the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday inside the bubble.

The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed back their entire team on Wednesday when they took on the Toronto Raptors and there was a clear pep in their step. This was more of a warmup game for the playoffs as the Sixers already know their seed and their playoff opponent. All in all, this result was a 125-121 loss to the Raptors as the bench could not hold all the way on and Stanley Johnson scored late.

Tobias Harris led Philadelphia in this one finishing with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists and the bench unit led by Furkan Korkmaz had 21 with five rebounds, and Raul Neto finished with 17 points finished it off. Al Horford was solid in his limited minutes and Joel Embiid had double team issues before leaving with a hand injury.

With that said, here are the three observations from this contest:

Harris’ aggressiveness

As mentioned before, this was more of a warmup game for the Sixers to get ready for the playoffs. For Philadelphia to have a serious chance at success in the postseason, they will need Harris to be the one to accept more responsibility on offense and they will need a night such as this one out of him consistently. He was aggressive attacking the rim and there was a different mentality that he had on offense. He had a couple of nice post-ups as well using his size and strength to get the job done.

Horford making a difference

The Sixers will need Horford in the worst way when the playoffs roll around and Wednesday night was a good test for him on the team. His defense on Raptors star Pascal Siakam was very good as he frustrated him pretty much every time he was matched up with him using his veteran instincts to stay with the young and talented forward.

Offensively, there was not much more that coach Brett Brown could ask for. Philadelphia needs him to shoot more threes and become much more aggressive on offense and he obliged in this one. One can’t help but feel better about the Horford situation after this game. He finished with nine points, five assists, and four rebounds while knocking down two shots from deep.

Embiid’s double team issues

The Raptors are always a team that has success against Embiid due to the savviness of Marc Gasol and the aggressive defense that the team plays on a regular basis. They sent waves of double teams towards the big fella and he did not respond very well as he did not make the quick decisions that he was making in earlier games in the bubble. He had five turnovers on the night before leaving at halftime due to the hand injury. He and Horford led a lot of the bench reactions when the second unit was playing well. [lawrence-related id=36751,36747,36742]

Sixers star Joel Embiid will not return vs. Raptors after hand issue

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid will not return against the Toronto Raptors after a hand injury.

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid returned on Wednesday night after missing a game due to an ankle injury and he then suffered a hand issue in the first half. He was hit on the right hand by Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol and it clearly bothered him.

The big fella then underwent X-Rays at halftime that came back negative, but the team will hold him out for the rest of the game. Considering their playoff spot is already locked up, it is smart that the team takes this measure of precaution.

He finishes with five points and nine rebounds, but with five turnovers on the night.

Embiid had a tough night reading the aggressive double teams that Toronto threw at him and this will have to be another learning experience for the All-Star center. He has done a very good job of reading double teams so far in Orlando so this was just a minor setback. [lawrence-related id=36751,36747,36742]

The Champs are here: Raptors handle Lakers behind big Lowry game

The Toronto Raptors delivered a reminder that until further notice, the road to the NBA title runs through them.

On a court with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the best player in Saturday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors was Kyle Lowry. Lowry’s 33 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and the tone he set with physical defense set the Raptors on their way to yet another impressive display against the Lakers, wrapping up their season series against L.A. 2-0 with an average margin of victory of 12 points. With the loss, the Lakers still have some business to take care of as far as clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference as the Los Angeles Clippers blew out the New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the day.

LeBron James had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists while Anthony Davis had a rare anonymous night for him, as the Lakers leading scorer was held to just 14 points after posting a game-high 34 points in their win against the Clippers.

The Raptors set the tone for the game with a 13-0 run to begin the game but their consistency was what set them over the edge on Saturday night. In addition to Lowry, OG Anunoby scored 23 points and stood tall in the task of guarding LeBron James while Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam each scored in double figures.

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Lakers went nearly five minutes without scoring to start vs. Toronto

Things didn’t get off to an ideal start for the Los Angeles Lakers in their game against the Toronto Raptors.

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Saturday’s matchup with the Toronto Raptors looking to avenge one of their worst games of the regular season, a 113-104 loss at home to the Raptors. At least to begin the game, things did not go very well for the Lakers’ hopes of avoiding a repeat of their loss to Toronto.

The Lakers began the game with a nearly five-minute drought and a 13-0 deficit. The Lakers didn’t score until a short jump hook by JaVale McGee with 7:09 left in the first quarter. Luckily for L.A., they started to play some better defense and also stopped being so sloppy on the offensive end to close the quarter.

Nevertheless, it was a bad start for the Lakers on Saturday against the defending champs after playing such a good game against the Clippers. OG Anunoby had the hot hand to start things off for the Raptors, with seven points, while also playing some great defense against LeBron James.

The Lakers did a much better job in the second part of the first quarter to answer Toronto’s energy, but they still trailed 23-21 after the first quarter in large part thanks to their poor start.

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