Where Do You Go?
So obviously a few teams are interested in the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol. He is a two-way beast who stretches the floor, and is showing few (if any) signs of decline a week shy of his 34th birthday. The Big Spain you see today is the same guy you saw a couple years ago.
But simple scrutiny can eliminate almost the entire NBA as any sort of logical destination.
Gasol clearly wants to compete, ruling out the bottom half of the Eastern Conference by default. The Miami Heat are in a salary cap slump and already have an expensive center of their own. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers have no need to upgrade their five-spot. The Philadelphia Sixers literally cannot upgrade theirs.
That leaves the Milwaukee Bucks — who would have been a great trade candidate pre-Brook Lopez, but are now goners — and the Toronto Raptors. Toronto has both incentive and a ton of assets; on the precipice of contention with Kawhi Leonard on a ticking clock. But it is unlikely that Memphis would feel great about taking on Serge Ibaka or Jonas Valanciunas, who would likely be part of any returning package.
Things are not much better out West. The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves have franchise centers. The Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets are all set there, too.
The Dallas Mavericks already have a rental center, the Sacramento Kings have an awkward glut of young bigs to figure out, and the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors are handcuffed for varying reasons.
So to recap, that leaves a grand total of four franchises — San Antonio, the two L.A. teams, and maybe Toronto — as partners with overt two-way appeal in a trade. Of the four, the Lakers are the most logical, on numerous levels.