NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers Must Remain Patient with Pau Gasol Market

It's time to dispatch with the thinking that Pau Gasol is some over-the-hill player with little value on a contending team. The Lakers still house one of the best big men in the game and they need to start acting like it. 

The Lakers are still on the lookout for the next big thing. This is a franchise built on constantly flipping the switch and bringing in more talent than they see leave. 

There was a real fear that Jim Buss' takeover would create a softer much more streamlined Lakers team, but it may be that the right deal just isn't out there. 

It's important to remember that this was the same team that pulled the trigger on a deal to bring Chris Paul to the Lakers. 

One David Stern negated trade later, they are still looking to bring in the star point guard they have craved for years. 

The most important point is that they need to go after a star point guard in a possible trade, not just any point guard. 

Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Rockets are still very much interested in Pau Gasol, but they have a huge caveat that makes a deal troublesome.  

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The Houston Rockets still have a longing for Gasol, but the Lakers would want a player the Rockets are most reluctant to part with: point guard Kyle Lowry. The Lakers could probably pry a combination of Kevin Martin and Luis Scola for Gasol, league sources said, but it's doubtful they'll move Gasol without solving their point guard problem. Lowry has developed into one of the league's finest point guards, but Rockets general manager Daryl Morey isn't trading him.

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The Lakers' one big issue is at the guard position. They have problems with depth and age and have been plagued by that fact for a few seasons. 

Pau Gasol just came off a big game against a hot Celtics team in which he scored 25 points and grabbed 14 boards. 

The Lakers shouldn't settle for lesser guards like Ramon Sessions or Johnny Flynn as some have suggested and they certainly should sell themselves short with Gasol. 

He is still one of the most versatile big men in the game and can go off on a scoring surge at any time. It's time the Lakers step back and let the perfect deal come to them, because they are holding the bigger trade chip in Gasol. 

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