The fear of negative feedback from fans persuaded the Lakers not to trade Pau Gasol to the Cavaliers unless the deal involved a scorer, center or point guard in exchange, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Andrew Bynum was involved in those talks, but presumably the Lakers felt they needed a more viable option at center. The Lakers are holding out for valuable assets in a Gasol trade, but that may be an unrealistic goal. Here’s more on Gasol and others from the Pacific Division:
- Lee Jenkins of SI.com thinks the time is now for the Lakers to finally trade Gasol, since his presence only hinders the team’s lottery chances at this point. Jenkins thinks a trade would also benefit Gasol.
- Rudy Gay‘s success with the Kings means it’s no longer a given that he’ll decide this summer to opt in for the final season of his contract, according to SB Nation’s Tom Ziller, who points out that a lower usage rate has been part of Gay’s improvement.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score, thinks Jason Thompson would be a much better fit on another team than he is on the Kings. Deeks urges the Kings to go ahead and trade the power forward, whom they’ve already put on the market.
- Scott Machado is set to join the D-League affiliate of the Warriors today, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The point guard spent camp with the Jazz after appearing in five playoff games for the Warriors last season.