Lakers Rumors: Perry Jones' Knee Issue Should Make Lakers Re-Think Trading Gasol

If the rumors are true, and Perry Jones has knee problems that are so bad they might keep him out of the top 10 in the NBA draft, which player do the Lakers plan on selecting if they succeed in trading Pau Gasol for a top-10 pick?

When rumors first surfaced that the Lakers were making a push to trade into the first round of this year's draft, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reported that they were primarily interested in the Baylor guys: Jones and Quincy Miller.

On Wednesday, those rumors intensified, as the Lakers put Pau Gasol up for grabs in exchange for a top-10 pick, according to Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN. Jones, at the time, was slated to go in the mid-to-late lottery.

But not anymore. On Thursday morning, ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported that a knee issue could drop Jones' stock even further:

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Multiple league sources say that NBA team doctors are concerned about a meniscus issue in Baylor forward Perry Jones III's knee. While opinions vary among NBA doctors on the ramifications of the issue, some teams feel that the knee could be an issue down the road and at some point in the future require surgery.

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As a result, Jones could fall all the way to the low-20s of this year's draft, and for good reason. No one wants to expend a top-10 pick on a guy whose career might only have a couple of good years left before he's going to need serious knee surgery.

Even if it's only a maybe, it's still something to consider. 

The Lakers, who have dealt with Andrew Bynum's array of injuries and surgeries over the last seven years, should know that better than anyone.

Even before the knee issues popped up, Jones was already a risky pick. Despite the fact that he's super athletic and is the ideal size at 6'11" and 235 pounds, he's constantly been dogged for his motor and his passivity in the paint.

One scout told Ford that he plays like a 2 or a small forward, not like a center, which is where he's played at Baylor for the last two years and has been underwhelming. 

All of those question marks, plus his knee issues, are going to cause his stock to plummet, and now that both he and Jared Sullinger have been flagged due to injury concerns, whom do the Lakers plan on selecting with a top-10 pick? Who's good enough to replace Pau Gasol's production?

Unless a proposed trade with the Hawks (per the Los Angeles Times) somehow comes to fruition (which would be insane on the Hawks' end) and the Lakers end up with Josh Smith, this trade no longer makes sense for L.A.

There's no post prospect worth taking in the top 10 unless the Lakers can get into the top five, and that's never going to happen.

At this point, the Lakers should hold on to Gasol for the time being and see what they can do to get into the bottom half of the first round.