Cleveland Cavaliers unlikely to trade for Marc Gasol
By Bryan Rose
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the process of building a super-team and have their eyes set on acquiring additional big name talent to surround both LeBron James and presumably Kevin Love. One such name who has been linked to the Cavaliers is that of Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol.
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A free agent at season end, Gasol is set to draw interest from a handful of teams, especially those with potential cap room. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have been rumored to be targeting the Spaniard as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders believes the chances of Marc Gasol landing with the Cleveland Cavaliers is rather small.
"Gasol will likely command a maximum contract, so more assets other than Haywood will be needed to make the deal work cap-wise. It would also have to be a sign and trade, as they will not have cap space due to Kevin Love’s cap hold. Would Memphis agree to such a deal? Perhaps, if Marc were dead set on leaving. But it seems like they are planning on rolling with Gasol for a while longer, given the extension of Randolph for another two years after this one."
Cleveland isn’t going to have the money to sign Marc Gasol outright, so they’d need to work a sign-and-trade scenario. Of course, for such a top heavy team like the Cavaliers, the available assets aren’t there so they’d need to send out a draft pick (not all that desirable) and expiring contracts. In the end, that won’t be enough for Memphis who would understandably pass on such an offer.