Pau Gasol Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Los Angeles Notes: Paul, Gasol

May 20th, 2012 at 8:24pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the Clippers and Lakers on Sunday evening:

Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes that, whatever the outcome of the Clippers' second-round series against the Spurs, the arrival and impact of Chris Paul has made this season a success.
Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register wonders whether the Kobe Bryant/Pau Gasol partnership is on its last legs.
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin implies the same thing, pointing to Bryant's public blaming of Gasol after the Lakers' Saturday loss to the Thunder.

Lakers Notes: Pau Gasol, World Peace, Steve Blake

May 13th, 2012 at 9:44am CST by Daniel Seco

Facing elimination from the playoffs, the Lakers put together a strong performance Saturday evening to beat the Nuggets by the score of 96-87 and advance to the second round. Strong play from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum allowed for the Lakers to win Game 7 at the Staples Center. Before they head to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder, let's head out to Los Angeles to catch up on the latest from the Lakers.

After a season of turmoil in which he nearly ended up with a different team, Gasol dialed back the clock Saturday night and delivered one of the biggest performances of his career, writes Lee Jenkins of SI.com. In order to get ready for the game, Gasol had coaches go at him in the paint while wearing football shoulder pads during practice on Friday. The drill was a success as the Spaniard scored 23 points to go along with 17 rebounds and six assists.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports says Metta World Peace was ready to get back on the court and lift his teammates after sitting for seven games due to suspension. While he was unapologetic about his actions toward James Harden, World Peace showed no signs of rust on the court as he scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in the victory.
Steve Blake channeled his inner Kobe Bryant with the effort he put together against the Nuggets on Saturday, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin. The former Maryland star took his play to the next level by shooting 5-for-6 on three-pointers for a career-playoff high of 19 points. Without Blake, the Lakers would be watching the second round of the playoffs on television rather than heading to Oklahoma City on Monday for Game 1.

HoopsWorld On Howard, Smith, Gasol

April 6th, 2012 at 6:31pm CST by Sean Highkin

HoopsWorld's Derek Page has compiled a column about the futures of several prominent NBA players featuring input from other writers:

Alex Kennedy thinks the Magic will once again attempt to acquire a player via trade or free agency to appease Dwight Howard, although the possibility is still open for him to be dealt.
Lang Greene says the Hawks should give serious consideration to moving Josh Smith this summer, as his trade value will be high and he is unhappy in Atlanta.
Eric Pincus finds it unlikely that Pau Gasol has a long-term future with the Lakers, due to the luxury-tax implications of keeping him.
Bill Ingram thinks the emergence of Courtney Lee will make it easier for the Rockets to move Kevin Martin for the right price.
Page believes Shawn Marion's contract makes him relatively easy for the Mavericks to trade, but with Howard off the market, it's not as necessary for the purpose of clearing cap space.

Nets Would Turn Down Gasol For Williams

March 15th, 2012 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that if the Lakers offered Pau Gasol for Deron Williams, the Nets would turn it down. According to Stein, the Lakers actually did make that pitch to New Jersey in December, so the Nets have already said no once.

News of Dwight Howard's latest decision, to opt in for next season and remain with the Magic, has led to rampant speculation about potential trades involving the Nets' star point guard. However, New Jersey is still turning away all interest in Williams.

Kyler On Rockets, Gasol, Pacers, Blazers, Smith

March 15th, 2012 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below:

The Rockets are discussing more than half their roster in trades, having offered around Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, Hasheem Thabeet and Courtney Lee. According to Kyler, Houston would trade any combination of those players to acquire Chris Kaman.
The Bulls want Lee, but aren't likely to meet the Rockets' asking price, which would mean parting with Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. The Pacers and Timberwolves are also eyeing Lee.
Houston has a standing offer out to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, but it doesn't include Kyle Lowry, so nothing is expected to happen there.
If the Blazers' three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Lakers involving Jamal Crawford falls through, Portland may have a backup trade in place with the Pacers.
The Magic won't be able to make a move for Josh Smith, which isn't a surprise. One league source tells Kyler the Hawks want an All-Star frontcourt player in exchange for Smith, so a deal is very unlikely.

Los Angeles Rumors: Beasley, Gasol, Bledsoe

March 15th, 2012 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers appear to be closing in on a three-way deal that would land them Michael Beasley, but different variations of the deal are being discussed. Most reports have Steve Blake and a first-rounder heading from L.A. to Portland, but Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com reported last night that it may be Luke Ridnour, rather than Blake, who goes to the Blazers. In that hypothetical trade, the Lakers would still give up a first-round pick, but wouldn't necessarily need to make a follow-up to replace Blake at the point.

While we wait to see how those negotiations shake out, here are a few Lakers- and Clippers-related rumors out of Los Angeles:

A Pau Gasol trade is "highly unlikely," tweets ESPN.com's Chris Palmer. Palmer says interest dropped way off after the Lakers reportedly backed out of talks involving Gasol and Rajon Rondo.
The Clippers continue to explore trades that would see them move Eric Bledsoe for a "big guard," says Palmer in a separate tweet.
Pedro Viola of ESPNLosAngeles.com thinks the Clippers will ultimately decide they can maximize Bledsoe's value by keeping him rather than trading him.

Rockets Rumors: Howard, Lowry, Martin, Dragic

March 15th, 2012 at 1:34am CST by Luke Adams

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle shares a few pre-deadline updates on the Rockets in his latest column. Let's check out the highlights:

The Rockets have been aggressive about trying to engage Orlando in Dwight Howard talks, but the Magic aren't very interested in Houston's assets.
One front office executive believes Houston will end up offering Kyle Lowry for Pau Gasol before Thursday's deadline, though the Rockets continue to insist that won't happen.
The Rockets still hope to either make it work with Kevin Martin, or pursue a deal down the road when Martin's value is a little higher than it is now.
Houston "went hard" after Andrew Bogut before the big man was traded to Golden State.
Terrence Williams likely could be had for a second-round draft pick.
Feigen considers Goran Dragic the Rocket most likely to be moved in a deal like last year's Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier trades.

Bulls Exploring Pau Gasol Trade; Deal Unlikely

March 14th, 2012 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 12:09pm: Negotiations between the Lakers and Bulls about Gasol may have fallen apart when Chicago was unable to find a third team to facilitate the deal, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. An East GM said of the talks: "I think that died on the vine."

TUESDAY, 9:56pm: If a deal between the Lakers and Bulls involving Gasol were to materialize past the exploratory talks, it looks as though there are some major financial obstacles to overcome, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

There are major luxury tax implications for both teams, and while there are expiring contracts for the Bulls to offer, it isn't likely that cap relief will help get the deal done. Taking on the remaining three years of Boozer's contract could have a dire effect on the franchise, as they could be subject to more prohibitive penalties as a luxury tax-paying team, writes Johnson.

K.C. also cites the Los Angeles Times, saying that the Lakers have reportedly asked for Joakim Noah, an unknown player, and two first-round picks in exchange for Gasol.

3:34pm: The Bulls are exploring avenues to try to trade for Pau Gasol, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Chicago has been linked to Gasol multiple times in recent weeks, though this is the first time we've heard that they're actively pursuing trade scenarios for the Lakers' big man.

According to Stein, the Lakers have limited interest in the players the Bulls could offer for Gasol, including Carlos Boozer. Stein hears that for a deal to have any chance of working, a third team would likely have to get involved, and the Bulls haven't found that third team yet, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The Lakers, who continue to talk to other clubs about potential Gasol trades, prefer to receive a top point guard if they're going to deal the Spaniard — and Chicago certainly won't be moving its top point guard.

The Rockets have also been aggressive in their pursuit of Gasol, though Houston's unwillingness to include Kyle Lowry in such a deal was a roadblock in those discussions. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has been telling people recently that he doesn't anticipate a Gasol trade will happen before Thursday's deadline.

Pacific Rumors: Gasol, Kaman, Evans, Kings

March 13th, 2012 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Let's head west and check in on the latest rumors out of the Pacific Division….

A league source tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that the biggest obstacle for a Pau Gasol trade is that not many owners would take on that sort of salary for one player. Owing about $20MM annually to a single player is scary for any team not in a major market, adds Kyler (Twitter links).
According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, if they were to trade Chris Kaman to the Warriors, the Hornets would want to acquire Ekpe Udoh as part of the deal. A recent report suggested the Hornets may be interested in extending Kaman, but Deveney considers that a smoke screen.
In a column yesterday for SI.com, Sam Amick hinted that Tyreke Evans may not be in the Kings' long-term plans, and that the team could eventually field trade offers for him. If Sacramento reaches that point, don't expect the Cavs to be interested, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
Speaking of Sacramento, if you have a few million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, perhaps you'd be interested in owning a portion of the Kings. Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee reports that a 7% minority share of the team will be auctioned off due to Bob Cook's personal bankruptcy.

Rockets Back Off Bogut, Pursuing Other Deal

March 13th, 2012 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after he reported that the Rockets were one of three teams discussing an Andrew Bogut deal with the Bucks, Ken Berger of CBS Sports says the Rockets have backed off their pursuit of the Milwaukee center. According to Berger, Houston has turned its attention to discussing a separate trade.

The trade the Rockets are pursuing now doesn't involve Pau Gasol, says Berger. Given the health of Kyle Lowry, who the Lakers covet in any Gasol deal, that's not a huge surprise. There are a number of other trade possibilities for the Rockets, who possess a handful of expiring contracts, along with players like Kevin Martin and Luis Scola, who could be had in the right deal — such as December's failed blockbuster for Gasol.