The Lakers have reached an agreement to sign free-agent center Marc Gasol, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN, who first reported that the two sides were finalizing a deal, say it’ll be a two-year pact.
A former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star, Gasol has seen his numbers fall off significantly during the last year-and-a-half in Toronto. He averaged just 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 44 games (26.4 minutes) in 2019-20.
However, while he’s no longer as prolific a scorer as he was during his days with the Grizzlies, Gasol can still knock down three-pointers (38.5 percent in 2019-20) and facilitate an offense from the top of the key. He also remains an effective defender, which will be important in Los Angeles. Montrezl Harrell, the Lakers’ other big frontcourt free-agent addition, is far more effective on offense than on defense.
It appears likely that Gasol will get a minimum-salary deal from the Lakers, who are up against a hard cap. The team agreed to trade JaVale McGee to the Cavaliers but will have to take back some salary in that deal. Plus, giving Gasol more than the minimum would require the Raptors to accommodate a sign-and-trade agreement.
Because the Lakers are offering a two-year contract, the first-year cap hit will be about $2.56M instead of $1.62M. The NBA partially reimburses teams for one-year minimum-salary veteran contracts, but not for two-year deals.
After a series of roster moves and minimum-salary signings, the Lakers project to be about $1.3M below the hard cap, per Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Meanwhile, the Raptors — having lost both Gasol and Serge Ibaka in free agency — have pivoted by securing a commitment from free-agent center Aron Baynes. The team is also re-signing RFA big man Chris Boucher.
