Los Angeles Lakers: Marc Gasol’s career has come full circle
By Criss Partee
Marc Gasol’s career has come full circle with the Los Angeles Lakers, as the end nears.
The Los Angeles Lakers will never say this publicly but, their recent signing of former Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond says more about their buyer’s remorse than it does anything else.
The Lakers likely began to experience this buyer’s remorse just weeks into the season about the signing of center Marc Gasol. Gasol looks like he’s five years removed from his prime past the end of his prime so far in Los Angeles this season.
It was only two years ago that Gasol averaged 15.7 points per game for the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline during the 2018-19 season. This season with the Lakers, Gasol is scoring just 4.8 points per game in under 20 minutes per game.
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Marc Gasol’s step back
Talk about a fall from grace.
The 2012-12 Defensive Player of the Year looks like a shell of his former self on the floor. He [Gasol] was never the most athletic player in the league but was respectable as a defensive presence in the middle for the Grizzlies for close to a decade. Gasol is such a liability on both ends of the floor for the Lakers they had to pick up an insurance policy in the form of Drummond.
Drummond should be an upgrade once he returns from a toe injury he suffered in his debut game with the Lakers.
But for Gasol, the curtain seems to be closing on a solid career. If the writing on the wall wasn’t clear before, now it is painted in bright neon pink lettering after Drummond’s signing. Gasol’s minutes have already been reduced to the lowest of his career even before Drummond arrived in LA. Once Drummond, is healthy Gasol will be lucky to log 15 minutes a night.
Head coach Frank Vogel is not to blame for Gasol’s lack of minutes. Gasol just hasn’t been effective when he’s on the floor. The clock is ticking, and time is almost up for the 3-time All-Star and 2-time All-NBA player.
The funny thing is Gasol was drafted by the Lakers in 2007, which many people either didn’t know or had forgotten. The Lakers took him in the second round (48th pick overall), but Gasol never played for them.
The Lakers traded him away before he came over from the Spanish league in 2008. Gasol’s draft rights were traded away to the Grizzlies in the deal that brought older brother Pau Gasol to Los Angeles.
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So, for Marc, it seems his career has come full circle in a way. The time is now for Gasol at age 36. Gasol looks to be running on less than fumes at this stage of his career. It is time to hang up the sneakers and ride off into the sunset.