Los Angeles Lakers: The Impact Of An Andrew Bynum-Pau Gasol Swap

For The Lakers:

Kobe deserves one last shot at a title, right? Trading Gasol is how the Lakers get there in one season. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

For the Lakers, this trade is all about loyalty. Not loyalty to Pau Gasol, obviously, since he’s been the subject of trade rumors for the past few seasons now. No, LA’s front office is being loyal the throngs of discontented fans who are unfamiliar with a losing season. They got a taste of it last season with one of the most underachieving teams in NBA history, sure, but the Lakers still made the postseason and their playoff push to close to regular season was exciting at least. Not so much with this year.

This season has been all about injuries. Kobe Bryant didn’t return until a few weeks ago, his return was just as underwhelming as Derrick Rose’s and he’s already been relegated back to the bench until around February (best-case scenario). The first few weeks of the season were kind of fun with underdog stories like Xavier Henry and Wesley Johnson stepping up and somehow winning games, but those memories are a thing of the past now.

Steve Nash has played in six games all season and his career could be over because of nerve root irritation in his back and hamstrings.

Lord Voldemort

Steve Blake still hasn’t returned due to an elbow injury. Jordan Farmar’s been struggling with hamstring problems. Henry is expected to miss 7-to-10 days with a bone bruise in his knee. When you have to go out and sign Kendall Marshall from the D-League, you know injuries have derailed your season in an unexpected way.

Bringing in Bynum doesn’t help with any of that, especially since the Lakers would waive him immediately. No, what Lakers fans should be excited about is the cap room this frees up for the future, not to mention whatever assets LA can talk Cleveland into throwing in. Again, Gasol’s trade value isn’t particularly high right now, but the Lakers will be looking for a draft pick to go with whatever other player the Cavs include in the deal.

How does this help the Lakers please their upset fans this season? It doesn’t. But by making a tough decision to get rid of Pau Gasol, who has become a Laker great in his time there, LA’s front office is slowly but surely carving the way for what they will hope is a new Lakers dynasty. Getting rid of Gasol makes this bad team even worse and paves the way for the Lakers to do something they’ve never really done before: tank.

With the loaded 2014 NBA Draft class inbound, the Lakers may have realized the playoffs are a pipe dream. It’s sad that they didn’t realize it until after a ridiculous contract extension and a plague of injuries that would give biblical Egypt a run for its money, but Los Angeles may have finally accepted the truth: Their best course of action is to let Kobe rehab, tank, get their hands on a top-five draft pick, pair that potential superstar with Kobe and free up cap space in the summer for free agents. A lot of people are on the fence about what kind of player Kobe Bryant can still be post-Achilles injury, but getting rid of Gasol’s contract and avoiding a repeater tax penalty is the right move regardless of Kobe’s future.