Lakers Rumors: How Pau Gasol's Contract Will Keep Him in LA

The Los Angeles Lakers are shopping Pau Gasol, but the question is whether or not he is tradeable.

It's not so much a question of whether he's a good player, but whether he is as good as his contract.In the post lockout era of the NBA, the same motivations which compel the Lakers to move him restrain other teams from wanting to obtain him. 

Only five players in the NBA make more than Gasol's $18.7 million this year. Two of those contracts, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, expire this year. The other three are Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Rashard Lewis.

Gasol is getting the standard raise the next two years as well, which raises the question: is it realistic to expect that Gasol can provide a team with $38.3 million in production over the next two seasons? Even if he can, the total cost of Gasol doesn't end with his contract. 

The huge impact of the new CBA kicks in starting next year, where the fees for the luxury tax really kick in. The reason the Lakers are looking to unload him is that even they are concerned about the heavy penalties. If they are worried, how much is that going to concern another team like Minnesota or Houston?

On top of that, in order to acquire Gasol it would require a team to send back a similar amount of money in contracts, but in doing so, it would require they send back two players rather than one, since there just aren't many players that make "Gasolian" money. 

For example, let's take a couple of the trades that have been speculated about. One would have Gasol going to the Bulls for Carlos Boozer and C.J. Watson (which is actually one that most Lakers fans have scoffed at in terms of not getting enough back). Boozer and Watson have combined for 6.5 win shares this season. Gasol has 5.7 this year. 

That means that the Bulls are essentially giving up a win in the deal. For that one less win they are paying Gasol $1.8 million more. When you factor in the money that they need to pay a new inferior backup point guard, they are actually spending $2 million. 

Take another trade that has been speculated, where LA sends Gasol to the Rockets for Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola. That trade costs Houston $4 million extra, as well as half a win. 

Granted, you can argue that as roles change there could be a difference between the numbers as they change teams. Of course, there's no guarantee that the numbers are going to stay the same, but as Gasol gets older, it's more likely that his numbers will go down than up. 

In the post-CBA world, players who make close to $20 million are not the players you build championships around. It's players who are younger you pay money like that to. You can't get Gasol's past in a trade; you can only get his future. He won't be going anywhere because it just doesn't make sense to other teams to trade for him. 

So what are the Lakers supposed to do? It might seem ridiculous, but in the end it might end up being that the best thing they can do is amnesty him. There's just no way that Gasol can fulfill a $20 million obligation.