Marc Gasol still ‘fully committed’ to Lakers, even with Andre Drummond
By John Buhler
Marc Gasol has put his ego aside after Andre Drummond joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
While center Marc Gasol felt marginalized after the Los Angeles Lakers signed Andre Drummond, he is trying to be the better man and embrace his new role with the team.
“I’ll stay ready. I’m going to tell you this: I’m fully committed to the team. I’ll stay ready when my number is called,” Gasol told ESPN. “I understand we have to get Andre acclimated to what we’re trying to do.
“We have to get back our two main guys — Bron [LeBron James] and AD [Anthony Davis] whenever they come back — and they have to get that group going and get some chemistry going with the first unit for them.
“I’ll be ready no matter what happens. No matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes, if it’s whatever position. If it’s some nights, I might not play. But I’ll stay ready, no matter what. I made that commitment.
“It’s been a process for me to reassess this situation a little bit, but like I said, I’m fully committed to this team. So, whatever is thrown at me, I’ll be ready.”
Marc Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers must tread water in the coming weeks
Even after adding Drummond, the Lakers are no longer the favorites to repeat as NBA champions. If the season ended today, the Lakers would be the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. While seeding really doesn’t matter when you have guys like LeBron James and Anthony Davis on your team, the Lakers don’t have either superstar readily available due to injury. This is a huge issue.
Without their best and second-best players, the Lakers are really just a middling team in the deep Western Conference. Even though Gasol has a championship pedigree from his brief stint with the Toronto Raptors, he is past his prime in his illustrious basketball career. Therefore, he fully understands that he needs recent acquisitions like Drummond to come up big so they can win.
After needing some time to adjust, Gasol has reaffirmed his allegiance to Lakers basketball.
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