Veteran center Marc Gasol told reporters following his stint with the Spanish team at the Tokyo Olympics that he intends to play out the 2021/22 season with the Lakers, but NBA reporter Marc Stein (subscription required) has heard that Gasol isn’t a lock to return to the team.
Stein’s report is a little vague — it’s not clear, should the two sides part ways before the end of Gasol’s deal, whether that split would be initiated by the Lakers or by the 36-year-old big man. Stein suggests it’s also unclear whether Gasol would seek another NBA opportunity in that scenario or if he’d want to finish his playing career with a team in Spain like his brother Pau Gasol.
As we keep an eye on that situation, let’s round up a few more Lakers-related rumors and notes…
- After a recent report identified free agent guards Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James as some players the Lakers have worked out and are considering signing, Stein adds a couple more names to that list, suggesting that the team also has guard Tim Frazier and forward JaKarr Sampson on its radar. Although Los Angeles doesn’t intend to carry a full 15-man roster to open the season, the team currently has just 12 players on guaranteed deals, so a couple more additions will be necessary.
- Thomas’ workout with the Lakers happened a few weeks ago, before he scored 81 points in a pro-am game in Seattle, Stein says.
- LeBron James took exception to the fact that 10 executives and scouts polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps all named either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant as the NBA’s best player entering 2021/22. As Bontemps details in a separate story, James tweeted that he intends to use the snub as fuel going forward.
I click the article link.
According to ESPN expert vote:
Who is going to win each conference and the NBA title?
East:
1. Brooklyn Nets: 7 votes
2. Milwaukee Bucks: 2
3. Miami Heat: 1
West:
1. Los Angeles Lakers: 5 votes
2. Golden State Warriors: 2
3. Utah Jazz: 2
4. Denver Nuggets: 1
Explain to me why the Suns get zero vote.
Because none of those polled felt the Suns will win the West?
Both the Suns and Hawks postseason runs were Cinderella story flukes.
I wouldn’t go THAT far, it was almost like a battle of attrition though. Atlanta just had a really deep team, even though their depth was tested as well, and, for the most part, the Sun’s were able to avoid the injury bug hitting them…
They still both combined to beat alot of quality teams..Either way, they might not have been picked to both make their long runs, but you cannot take away the fact they earned a ton of credit for what they accomplished.
The better question would be why most of them voted for the Lakers and Warriors when both teams are merely play-in tournament participants. The Nuggets and Jazz are far more likely to win the West than those other two who have little depth on both rosters.
Because if ad and Lebron were healthy, they would’ve gotten to the finals.. lakers have depth going into this season. Most important, if they are healthy, nobody in west is touching them.
Pg-Westbrook/nunn
Sg-bazemore/tht/monk/ellington
F-lebron/Ariza
Pf-AD/Melo
C-Gasol/howard
If is the key and big word. If they were healthy. If they can stay healthy. If they were younger. If this team was assembled 5 several years ago. The likelihood they can stay healthy is slim to none.
Older teams have won rings.. hill falling on lebrons ankle really derailed the lakers. AD WASNT right all year.. but, he’s got a trainer so hopefully he gets it right.. Westbrook with all his warts still is an upgrade over schroder.. nunn and tht will be hungry and monk is gonna be solid off bench.. biggest issue last year was rim protection and offensive firepower.. Melo replaced kuzma.. team is better offensively.. vogel defensive schemes show no matter who’s playing, they will be solid defensively.
Tru dat
The only concern is health not age. Every year we hear Lebron is getting old but yet if he didn’t get hurt, he was a candidate for MVP. AD is young and he gets hurt often. Fact is, a healthy Laker team will be in the finals and definitely can win it all. Last year we were injured and had no backup. This season is different. AD or Lebron go down (hope NOT) this team can still win games with the depth
why do Laker fans keep saying they would have won last year if healthy? They lost in the 1st round with LeBron playing every game in the series and the series was tied 2-2 when AD went down (played the entire 1st half of game 4 and trailed at half with Phoenix outplaying them). The 2 games Lakers won were the games CP3 basically couldnt lift one arm due to the shoulder injury he suffered game 1 and didnt look like he should have even been attempting to play those games. As CP3 got healthier throughout the series, they were a better team then the Lakers. LAL had no depth and couldnt compete with teams if they suffered any injury which is why they were a 7 seed.
The series was actually 2-1 Lakers and they were up 10 pts cruising in game 4 on the way to go up 3-1
I had Utah the whole time in the West but Lakers beat the Suns if AD stays healthy that series
Regular season games played last 3 seasons:
LBJ 55 67 45
AD 56 62 36
The injury IF is a big one as those numbers do not show that these superstars have had much resilience the past 3 years.
Agreed, put aside the ‘what ifs’.
It’s likely, but you still just can’t assume they would have made it. The fact is they didn’t make it, and they’re relying on alot of their players to stay healthy.
It is no assurance they’re going to stay healthy, especially with Father Time’s nearly unblemished record, and it is a LONG season.
On paper they might be the favorites, but there is a reason they play the games. Facts are LeBron has been human lately, and AD is a big that has dealt with his own fair share of troubles..Their health is just as big of a question mark, as other teams relying on their younger players to take a step forward..
You just have to get ready the best you can, prepare the best you can, and see what happens…
Explain how you’re always the first to comment
Suns were very fluky.. lakers were up 2-1 and leading game 4 when ad went down.. then beat a nuggets team without Murray.. then beat a clippers team without Kawhi.. then got punched by bucks..
Go Lakers – let’s focus on the path forward.
No more would have, could have, should have.
Laker fans are as bad as NY fans when it comes to reality. The Lakers aren’t winning anything with that cast of Hasbeens. BRON BRONs GMing of the team won’t produce a winner this year. “ If they could be healthy” is like saying if it wasn’t cold in Antarctica. Get real Laker fans.
Don’t you ever compare LA to the knicks.
We have 17 championships, only Celtics are on the same level.
Everyone else sounds foolish to laker fans because the scoreboard says so.
And how many of those championships were in the last decade?
The same number as the Bucks, Raptors, Cavs, Spurs, and Mavs.
Since 2000 the lakers have 6 rings.. 6 in last 21 years. Or since 1980, 11 in 41 years. those franchises combined in their history have 9..
The game has changed since 2000. The new era and refereeing started with Golden State’s dynasty. What happened in the 2000s and early 2010s is old news. No one cares anymore.
How many do your Rockets have ever?
You’re green with envy bro.
Seriously shut off the CPU and let LeBron go.
He can’t live in your head and LA.
Cast of has beens.. we replaced schroder, Drummond, kuzma, Kcp, morris, Mathews, caruso and hare ll with parts that fit.. Westbrook is better then schroder, Howard is better rim protector then Drummond, bazemore is pretty close to Kcp on both sides.. Mathews and morris couldn’t hit 3’s consistently.. they are replaced by Ariza nunn, monk and Ellington.. all who can score and make 3’s.. the sum of the parts that were replaced are an upgrade.. Melo replaced kuzma inconsistent production with a proven scorer.. defensively, Vogel system proves they can be top rated with ad and lebron out.. they aren’t being asked to play 40 minutes a night.. maybe 10-20 max
As a Lakers fan, I’m surprised how little appreciation you had for all Kuzma did for that team. He might have been an inconsistent shooter, but the dude played very solid defense, and you alls defense…YOUR CALLING CARD isn’t nearly as good as last years team..
However, they are better offensively, so there is that, but either way on paper they’re as solid as it gets. They still have to make it to the playoffs healthy to win, and that is no guarantee..
Regardless, this is going to he one competitive season, and should be alot of fun with so many good teams!!
Like I said HASBEENS. Can’t wait until Westbrook goes all Westbrook. Of course it will be while AD is sitting on the bench with a limp and BRON BRON needing his precious time off. Also if you aren’t first in Championships we’ll like they say the view is all the same. Now how many years did they go below 500 before GM BRON BRON got there? How many Draft picks will they have once he is gone? Ummm Hmmmm I feel some Laker Drought coming on.
Don’t hate.
Gasol is under contract for next yr. So why wouldn’t he play.
A. He could get hurt
B. He won’t see the court
C. Its only a league min deal
D. He could play in Europe
Pick your poison
Don’t believe everything you read.
It sounds like he really enjoyed his time with his teammates in the Olympics, and not so much with his team last season.
Maybe he felt unappreciated, miscast, underutilized, idk., but alot of the time when these reports come out where there is smoke there is fire.
However, he doesn’t really strike me as the kind of player that would just demand to be released. I guess he could retire, sit out the season, and then go play for a team in Slain if he’s really THAT unhappy. For my money though, I see him playing out this season on the Lakers, unless his role is decreased significantly and he’s getting more DNPs (Coaches Decision) than he cares for…
Thats just my two cents..But it’s also merely just a guess..lol
The Lakers are old and old gets hurt. Add the fact that davis is never healthy and it’s a pipe dream in the city of angels.
They’re almost certain to be the oldest team in NBA history. By New Year’s Eve both Melo and LeBron will be 37; Dwight, Ariza, and Gasol will all be 36; Ellington will be 34, Westbrook will be 33, and Bazemore will be 32.
Anthony Davis seems quite young at 28, but he has never missed fewer than 7 games in a season. He has missed an average of 17 games per season.
ya AD got the oldest body of the bunch.
I think this team dominates the regular season then gets absolutely flatlined in the playoffs.
Lakers will be the team you comment on the most.
Basketball really makes you unhappy huh?
Older has higher odds of getting injured. Those hurt odds decrease if one takes care of their body keenly.
Anyone young or old can get hurt anytime and anywhere.
It will all play out.
Still though, once nagging injuries start to hit a player, regardless what they do, it only happens more frequently as they get older and with more mileage..
It is just an inescapable fact, but hopefully all teams stay as healthy as possible so we can all witness the best basketball possible!!
LJ is 37 or 38 whatever age he is, he needs to go away. We keep thinking he is going to win every year, get real the man is 38. I don’t care how much specialists, crypto diet. Sleeping chamber(or gas chamber) he hires 37 is 37 he is an old used car that is running good and fools the owner that he will run forever until it breaks down without warning and becomes unfixable then you junk it. I love LB but he is 37-38 let’s be realistic.
Best wishes to LB and all the athletes to stay healthy. Love the high caliber competition.
Put aside age discrimination, if they can play let them without hating.
This made me feel like I was back in middle school where they give you a paragraph, and you have to fix all the punctuation mistakes, sentence fragments, and sentence run-ons..lol
I’m not perfect by no means, I just wanted to share the flashback…haha
The only concern is health not age. Every year we hear Lebron is getting old but yet if he didn’t get hurt, he was a candidate for MVP. AD is young and he gets hurt often. Fact is, a healthy Laker team will be in the finals and definitely can win it all. Last year we were injured and had no backup. This season is different. AD or Lebron go down (hope NOT) this team can still win games with the depth
.. lakers had numerous games where they went cold 5 minutes cause they couldn’t score.. not gonna have an issue with the players they brought in..
Advanced age and injuries are just tied together, especially when an older player starts to have more and more nagging/reoccurring injuries.
It isn’t a sure thing LeBron will get injured this season, but to say it is less likely than not is just wishful thinking, unfortunately..
Don’t get me wrong, I hope he does stay healthy all season, but the odds just are not in his favor..
I firmly believe that is one of the reasons they added Westbrook to battle against any injuries during the season, so they’d still be a solid team with another floor general..
Their front office isn’t stupid, they did what they could to fight against what happened last season, and they definitely added some offensive fire power. However, in doing so, I hope they didn’t compromise their defensive identity..
Regardless, they’ll be a fun team to watch and follow.
Old or young, players can get injured. These are facts. I dont see age as the reason why the lakers wont win. It would always be which team would come out the healthiest!
JaKarr Sampson is super underrated. Darren collision isn’t coming out of retirement. Mike hames is another underrated guy who gets ya buckets. Isaiah Thomas people just want to see again. Don’t know if he even is quit good enough except getting 20 PPG. I guess that’s what lakers want tho.
Lakers are injury prone because AD and age?
I get it but that’s short sighted.
I’ve seen Giannis, CP3, Curry, Klay, Kawhi, and the whole Nets go down with injury.
Forgive me for not getting panicked.
Now let me count our chips.