Lakers Rumors: Would Pau Gasol for Kyle Lowry Make the Lakers Better?

According to HoopsRumors.com the Houston Rockets are aggressively pursuing a deal to acquire Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol, but the Rockets are reluctant to include point guard Kyle Lowry as part of the deal.

It would be silly for the Lakers to part with Gasol for any other player than Lowry, so if there is any truth to the rumor then some version of a Gasol for Lowry deal is the most likely scenario.

But is it really a good deal for the Lakers?

Everyone knows the Lakers need a point guard, and Lowry would be a substantial upgrade over Derek Fisher and Steve Blake, but is it worth parting ways with an All-Star interior player for a lead guard who is currently in his first season as a starting point guard?

And a shortened season at that.

Don't get me wrong. I think the fourth-year pro Lowry is a nice talent and probably the best point guard other than Deron Williams that the Lakers could acquire, but the Lakers shouldn't break up their interior tandem of Gasol and center Andrew Bynum unless the players they receive are Williams or Dwight Howard.

Especially when you consider that the Lakers problems may run much deeper than the point guard position anyway.

Lately there have been questions about whether or not the Lakers players have faith in new head coach Mike Brown, and this article by Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLa.com seems to suggest they do not.

The possibility of a player mutiny may out-weigh the need for a point guard on the importance scale because if the players have no faith in Brown it doesn't matter whom management adds to the roster.

Unfortunately, there may be some truth to this rumor since it is the same type of complaint you heard about Brown during his time in Cleveland, especially concerning late game management.

Blowing a 20-point lead to one of the worst teams in the NBA, which the Lakers did against the Washington Wizards is pretty bad. But confusing that pitiful episode with the need for better point guard play is worse.

There is something fundamentally wrong with the Lakers and as is the case in other instances the cancer has spread from the top with team president Jim Buss, and it has possibly filtered down to Brown.

The Lakers need help but Lowry is not the type of player who can restore faith and trust in the franchise, and dealing away Gasol in response to a sense of urgency might make the situation worse.

I'm all for improving the team's roster, but maybe the culture and atmosphere surrounding the franchise need to change first.

The Lakers should never make a trade just for the sake of making a trade, and that's exactly what Gasol for Lowry would be since Gasol is clearly a better player at the moment.

Hopefully the Rockets will do the Lakers a favor and stick by their decision not to deal Lowry and then maybe the Lakers can focus on their own inner-turmoil.

Right now the Lakers definitely appear to be vulnerable and wounded, but trading away a player like Gasol, who makes your team special, would be another wrong decision in a season filled with them.