Pau Gasol has suffered a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, the Lakers confirmed on their website. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who originally reported the news, set the timetable for his return at six weeks or more, while Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears it's at least four weeks (Twitter link). In any case, it will keep him out until after the trade deadline, complicating, if not scuttling, any potential deal.
Gasol will meet with a specialist tomorrow, and an official timetable will be set following that, but Berger hears he could be out 10-12 weeks if he opts for surgery, which would provide a better chance for full recovery than rehab alone. That would leave the 23-26 Lakers without their second-leading rebounder until April at the earliest, adding yet another burden to their pursuit of a playoff spot.
The Lakers have a $1.78MM injury exception granted following the loss of Jordan Hill for the season, but the team isn't dead set on using it, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). They also have a pro-rated portion of the $1.4MM they had leftover on their mid-level exception entering the season. Aside from that, they'd either have to replace Gasol in trades or via minimum-salary signing. L.A. has 14 players on the roster, leaving one open spot.
I think they need to go get Andray Blatche ASAP.