Lakers Trade Rumors: Pau Gasol Too Valuable to Be Dealt Right Now

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to win the title this year, it will only happen if Pau Gasol remains on the roster. 

The 7-footer is entirely too important to the Lakers' success this season, and trading him away would result in postseason failure. 

There is no realistic trade out there that is going to make the Lakers that much better. Yes, even landing Dwight Howard wouldn't be the best because that would also mean that Andrew Bynum is likely out as well. Losing Gasol and Bynum would be a huge setback for Los Angeles. 

The Lakers have a chance to win it all this year, but dumping Gasol for younger talent would be a disaster at this current time. 

Gasol is averaging a double-double on the year, and if moved, the Lakers offense would take a drastic hit. That would put loads of pressure on Kobe Bryant to carry the team even more than he already does.  

It doesn't make any sense to deal Gasol at this point in time because the Lakers would be throwing away their shot at winning another ring this summer. 

As the March 15 NBA trade deadline approaches, there are a number of rumors swirling around. Gasol is well aware of this, and after a tweet from Roland Lazenby said he was pretty much gone, the Spaniard just shook it off, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"

"I said to myself, if there was anything serious about to happen, I would get a call from a significant person and I didn't get that," Gasol said. "Anybody can start up rumors. They start up small and they come out big. I can't control certain things and I'm just going to continue to do my job as best as I can. The less I hear about it, the better, but March 15 is around the corner, so one way or another I'll be here or I'll be … who knows?" 

"

Gasol is going to keep playing hard for the Lakers, which is a great to hear. There are plenty of different ways he could be approaching this, but he's doing it the right way. 

Because of that, it's a strong indication he wants to stay in Los Angeles, and you can't really blame him for that. 

The Lakers are going to make the playoffs, and they have a good shot at being the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They can catch the Spurs, but in order to be top overall team, they would need the Thunder to choke big time. 

Right now, there is only one deal the Lakers need to make, and that is upgrading the point guard position. 

Keeping Gasol and bringing in a guy like Ramon Sessions or Raymond Felton would make the Lakers much more dangerous. 

Gasol has the talent the Lakers need to remain a top team in the Western Conference, but trading him before the deadline would end their shot at a title this year.