Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Social Media Enamored With Marc Gasol Trade Chatter
Cleveland Cavaliers trade rumors involving Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies sure sound interesting on paper. Social media is enamored with the possibility of Gasol and LeBron James playing on the same team. Unfortunately, these latest NBA trade rumors don’t appear to be grounded in reality.
The source of these Cleveland Cavaliers trade rumors is an article by ESPN analyst Zach Lowe. He postulated that the Cavs could trade the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for All-Star center Marc Gasol. It’s a fit, as the Cavs need help in the low post and the Grizzlies need to improve for the future. Dealing Gasol could be in the plans, but it isn’t something that the front offices in Memphis and Cleveland have discussed. At least not that anyone is aware of at this point.
“Marc Gasol makes a ton of sense as a Nets pick target, but the Grizzlies appear happy to stand pat; the two teams have had no dialogue about any Gasol-centric deal, per league sources. Gasol’s age makes him a suboptimal match for a post-LeBron doomsday scenario. That’s why two weeks ago on a Lowe Post podcast, I pitched the idea of swapping the Nets pick for Aaron Gordon. This was pure speculation, to be clear. I just made up a fake trade.”
Scattered thoughts/preview on the trade deadline: https://t.co/D24qK2hpb5 Pairs well w/ this excellent piece from @WindhorstESPN and @BobbyMarks42 https://t.co/MZouKs2lEM
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 6, 2018
The idea of a Marc Gasol trade would seem to make sense for both teams. If LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers during the next NBA offseason, the franchise would still have Gasol, Kevin Love, and Isaiah Thomas as the core of the team. That’s not a bad trio to work with, even though it might be unclear who would become the floor leader for the team. Having Gasol might also convince James to stay in Cleveland, though he might need to take a pay cut so that the team doesn’t go too far into the luxury tax penalties.
As for the Memphis Grizzlies, the team is going to miss the 2018 NBA Playoffs and needs to be concerned about a rebuilding phase. Gasol’s contract pays him roughly $24.1 million next year and then he has a player option worth about $25.6 million the following season. Getting that money off the books would be very helpful and getting back a first-round pick of the Brooklyn Nets would help the team in the long-term process. This is why Zach Lowe broached the subject of a deal before the NBA trade deadline.
No matter how enticing these Cleveland Cavaliers trade rumors are to fans discussing the possibility on social media, they are currently nothing more than the conjecture of an NBA analyst.
