A few weeks ago, LeBron James was asked on a podcast about the possibility of Pau Gasol reuniting with the Los Angeles Lakers, who signed Marc Gasol in free agency this offseason. His response was short and vague: "We'll see," LeBron said.
Gasol himself is much more to the point. During a recent interview with Zach Lowe of ESPN, the 40-year-old big man made it clear he wants to return to the league, and would relish the chance to do so with the Lakers. He's also hoping to play for Spain in the Olympics in the summer, assuming those go forward.
"There is meaning and history there," Gasol said. "I'm not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother [Marc] is there, even more special. But I'm not in a position now to be very demanding. I don't have 10 offers on the table."
Gasol has not played in the NBA since March 2019, when he played 15 minutes and scored three points for the Milwaukee Bucks in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. No, really, Gasol was on the Bucks. It was such a short stint that it's unlikely anyone even got an iconic jersey to wear at music festivals before it ended, but it did happen.
Since then, he's been sidelined with a foot injury that has required multiple surgeries and a lengthy rehab. But now he's healthy and wants to make a comeback attempt. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for him to progress to 5-on-5 games, and the best he's managed is playing 2-on-2 with workout partners he's been able to bring in and pay to have tested for COVID-19, he told Lowe.
That pretty much rules out any chance he'll be on a roster in the near future, especially considering the season starts in less than two weeks, and he doesn't want to just be on a roster, but wants to contribute. There's no question about his skill level, and as a veteran presence in the locker room he could be quite valuable.
But it's going to take some work to convince a team to use a roster spot on a guy who hasn't played in nearly two years, let alone make him a part of the rotation. It also doesn't help Gasol that due to the pandemic and the possibility of COVID-19 cases, teams are going to have to be more reliant on depth than ever before.
We don't know how things will go as the season moves along, and there might be a team who needs some emergency help in the frontcourt and is willing to take a flyer on Gasol. Or, perhaps, the veteran changes his tune and decides he just wants another chance to be a part of a team, and takes an offer regardless of whether it comes with playing time. It's certainly not impossible that Gasol ends up on a roster before the end of the season, but don't expect it to happen anytime soon.
