Lakers Rumors: LA Must Deal Pau Gasol at the Deadline

While the Lakers' brass exhibits relentless optimism in expecting another NBA championship with their current group of players, it's clear that they're also displaying signs of nostalgia. For their benefit, I'm here to open eyes and inform them of the harsh reality: the Lakers' current unit wouldn't stand a fighting chance in a seven-game series against the NBA's elite.

While failing now and winning later is far from an option with Kobe in his 16th season, it's time to start thinking of how the Lakers can build a contender for 2012 and beyond. 

It's time to trade Pau Gasol.

As talented as Gasol is, and he doesn't get enough credit for it, he is the best possible player that the Lakers can afford to trade. He's also the only trade bait not named Metta.

The two-headed monster of Gasol and Andrew Bynum would certainly be missed, but how long could we really expect that to last? While much is made of Kobe's age and injuries, no one seems to remember that Gasol is 31 and far from scathe-free.

In fact, over the past 10 seasons, Gasol has missed 35 more games than Kobe Bryant. So you tell me, who is the injury-prone player that the Lakers must worry about losing?

If the Lakers want to continue to write their name in the record books, they must maximize Gasol's trade value while they still can. Fortunately, his value is quite high.

As we saw with the Houston Rockets' early proposal to acquire the Spaniard, Gasol still has an abundance of talent that coaches and general managers would love to utilize. So much so that the Rockets were willing to give up Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and a first-round draft pick. 

Unfortunately, that trade was shut down—much like the notion of Gasol's status as an untouchable should be.

While the Lakers' frontcourt has certainly set them apart over the past four seasons, nothing has further distanced LA from the rest of the NBA like their lack of a point guard.

Names including Raymond Felton, Jose Calderon and Ramon Sessions have been thrown around in Lakers' trade discussions. While none of those players are likely to require Gasol's name on the other end of the trade, including Gasol could bring back a third first-round pick in this year's NBA draft.

It could also bring one of the NBA's most well-rounded point guards, Kyle Lowry, if they're willing to wait two to four weeks.

Regardless of who or what they make the move for, it's a move they need to make. Talented youth is as available as ever, with players such as Josh Smith, Michael Beasley and Dwight Howard all on the trade market. If the Lakers want to avoid a down period similar to what occurred once Shaquille O'Neal left town, they need to act fast and move Gasol.