[ad_1]
Dwight Howard leaving the Los Angeles Lakers means the team now have at least one center-square hole to fill, and they are now looking to do so with one of the main targets in the free agent market: the veteran big man of the Toronto Raptors, Marc Gasol.
Marc Stein of the New York Times broke the story shortly after Howard’s agent announced he was leaving for the Sixers:
Marc Gasol has become a free agent target for the Lakers in an effort to fill the void created by Dwight Howard’s departure from Philadelphia, according to league sources.
– Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 21, 2020
Gasol was originally drafted by the Lakers in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft, but he never signed with the team until his rights were traded for his brother, Pau Gasol, in 2008. Now it seems at least possible that a second Gasol’s brother could help the Lakers repeat as NBA champions.
On paper, Gasol is a dream next to Anthony Davis, or at least the best version of him. While he averaged just 8 points per game on 44.2% shots from the field during his two seasons with the Raptors, he shot 40% from 3-point range on 200 attempts. He was also fifth in real defensive plus-minus (3.42) among centers. Only Rudy Gobert (+4.85), Daniel Theis (4.45), Brook Lopez (3.60) and Nikola Jokic (3.51).
He’s not a perfect Howard replacement in the sense that they’re equal players, but he does give them a solid post defender, which was part of the lure to bring Howard back. Howard’s post defense earned him a berth in the starting lineup in the Western Conference Finals; Gasol would be too, especially with Montrezl Harrell and JaVale McGee as the Lakers’ only other options down center.
Gasol is also a very high IQ basketball player, and the Lakers cutters would benefit from having a center like him – who can pass the post and shoot 3 points – on the roster. He’d do a home run, but that’s if he’s got something still in the tank. If he’s still the Gasol the Raptors have in the Orlando bubble, that’s a pretty big “if”.
But even then, the Lakers should sign Gasol for the veteran’s minimum now that they’ve capped themselves using both the full mid-level exception and the biannual exception. If so, then I’m sure Los Angeles wouldn’t mind having another Gasol brother.
For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast on itunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google podcasts.
[ad_2]
Source link