The Los Angeles Lakers have had a slow start to the NBA season, and despite huge expectations from fans and critics, they have been a disappointment. Obviously, they have dealt with injuries with Steve Nash and Steve Blake, defensive issues, and Dwight Howard’s free throw problem, but the scapegoat for the time being has been Pau Gasol.
There’s been rumor after rumor about possible trade scenarios involving Gasol, and on Thursday Marc Stein of ESPN, revealed the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors attempted to get in on the action, but were turned down.
Stretch power forward Andrea Bargnani, veteran point guard Jose Calderon and fellow vet Linas Kleiza are among the players, sources say, whom the Raptors have discussed making available to the Lakers in a deal for Gasol.
Timberwolves general manager David Kahn has been trying since last season to acquire Gasol to join fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio in a three-man core with All-Star forward Kevin Love, but sources say the Lakers continue to resist Minnesota’s attempts to build a trade offer around 2011′s No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams and center Nikola Pekovic.
However, Stein goes on to say that the Lakers will not entertain any trades for the Spanish big until Steve Nash been given more time to play with him.
The Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves have both recently tried to engage the Lakers in trade discussions for Gasol, sources told ESPN.com, but the Lakers continue to tell teams that call that they will not consider dealing the Spaniard until L.A. can fully assess its roster after the return of injured point guard Steve Nash.
Out of the two aforementioned trade scenarios, some are more inclined to re-evaluate the Toronto offer, but when Bargnani, who’s allergic to rebounding, is in the picture, it’s hard to take it seriously.
