In Lakers news today, the Los Angeles Lakers may have been low-balled in trade negotiations for big man Pau Gasol, thus leading the team to holding on to him for the remainder of the 2013-14 NBA season.
Per LakersNation.com, Los Angeles Times writer Mike Bresnahan states in a recent article that Jim Buss had given the okay to trade Gasol:
"Buss was fine with trading him, Kupchak wasn’t so sure. In the end, the Lakers were never offered more than a second-round draft pick for the aging star, a pittance in their mind. And they didn’t want to seem like they were dumping Gasol’s $19.3-million salary for nothing."
The Lakers were offered just a second round pick, despite the fact that Gasol had a productive season statistically with the team. Gasol average a double-double and at times had to shoulder extra burden defensively when the team broke down in its assignments.
However, nobody knows for sure what Gasol could command on this year's free agent market -- leading to some analysts predicting that the Lakers will have a legitimate chance to retain Gasol at a relative discount.
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