Pau Gasol unlikely to take pay cut to remain with Lakers
By Josh Sanchez
The Los Angeles Lakers have an interesting dilemma heading in to next season. The team will have just two players — Steve Nash and Robert Sacre — under contract and they will need to find a way to spend their money wisely.
The Lakers will hope to attract a few big name free agents, but what will that mean for veterans Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol?
Bryant will undoubtedly be brought back and finish his career as a member of the Lakers with hopes of winning one more championship, but he may have to do so without his sidekick Gasol.
If the Lakers come at Gasol with a low-ball offer and ask him to take a pay cut, it’s likely not going to work out.
From Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
"In the interest of the Lakers maximizing their financial flexibility, would Gasol accept taking a significant paycut?“Probably not,” he said. “You have to explore your options, but I would like to continue to play for the Lakers and maybe finish my career here. But you have to see the cards on the table.”"
There is also the possibility that Gasol, who has been in the middle of plenty of past trade rumors, could seek a trade this season before the deadline, so they could once again have a big man at the center of some drama.
The Lakers are going through a transition and they are far from the dominant team that they once were, so they need to find a way to keep Gasol happy if they want to return to that level and send Kobe off into retirement on a high note.