Report: Lakers Trade Starter & Pick to Grizzlies for Rights to International Star

The Los Angeles Lakers will make a few more moves ahead of the regular season. What’s the most recent thing they did? The Lakers decided to trade a starter which leaves them with enough cap space and an empty spot. Yes, LA really needed that empty spot.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to confirm the trade of Marc Gasol. LA is trading the Spaniard for the second time in his career. The Lakers did business with the Memphis Grizzlies. They packed Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick and money for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin.

This was a rather expected move. Gasol joined the starting lineup in the first portion of his stint with the team. His performance wasn’t that explosive and head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t really happy.

Gasol won’t stay too long in Memphis as the Grizzlies are expected to release him. We don’t know if the veteran will retire at this point but we do know that he will go to Spain.

Lakers trade their starter to bring new name

This is a beneficial move for the Lakers. Gasol’s departure leaves the Lakers with $10 million.

DeAndre Jordan is the most recent player to join the Lakers. He will go at center and Dwight Howard will take a similar role. In other words, the Lakers had to get rid of the Spanish guard.

Gasol is a talented player, but he failed to perform at a high level with the Lakers. The former Defensive Player of the Year came with great stats in his hands, but Lakers fans weren’t too excited about his performance.

LA is coming off of a bad season. They left the playoff run in the very first round. The front office rebuilt the roster. There was no room for players who underperformed in the 2020-21 NBA season. Schroder, Gasol… They all took separate ways.

The Lakers will enter the new season with great veteran presence. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be leading the way. Russell Westbrook will be the No.3 player for the team and the rest of the guys will find their spot on the floor. Vogel has the right formula for his new team.