Marc Gasol averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds last season as the Lakers were eliminated in the first round.
The Los Angeles Lakers traded Marc Gasol back to the Memphis Grizzlies in a deal two teams announced on Friday. Memphis will then seek to waive the veteran center so he can remain in his native Spain, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
The Lakers also sent a 2024 second-round pick and money to the Grizzlies in exchange for the draft rights to Chinese center Wang Zhelin, the 57th pick in the 2016 draft and a former domestic MVP in the Chinese Basketball Association.
The Lakers have agreed to trade Marc Gasol, a 2024 second-round pick and cash to the Grizzlies for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin, sources tell ESPN. Deal saves Lakers $10M. Gasol and Grizzlies will work together on waiver and release to allow him to remain in Spain w/ family.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 10, 2021
Gasol’s role for the upcoming season looked increasingly tenuous this summer after the Lakers signed centers Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, who officially returned to Los Angeles on Thursday. The Lakers also weren’t even certain Gasol wanted to return for another NBA season, prompting them to stock up on big men.
However briefly, Gasol returns to the team he spent the first 10-plus seasons of his NBA career, earning three All-Star nods and helping the Grizzlies make seven straight playoff appearances before he was traded to Toronto midway through the 2018-19 campaign.
Gasol helped the Raptors win the championship that season before signing with the Lakers as a free agent in 2020. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds last season as the Lakers were eliminated in the first round, precipitating a major overhaul that has seen them add, among others, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.
Gasol, 36, boasts averages of 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in nearly 900 regular season games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
