Marc Gasol says Pau would ‘love’ to come back and play for the Lakers

Pau Gasol hasn’t suited up for an NBA team since March 10, 2019, when he suffered an ankle injury that was later discovered to be a navicular stress fracture in his left foot. Gasol had hoped to return to the court last season, but his recovery was much slower than he or the Portland Trail Blazers thought and he was waived just a month into the season.

It’s unclear if Gasol is healthy enough to play now, but that hasn’t stopped Lakers fans from trying to lure him back to Los Angeles, where he won two championships playing alongside Kobe Bryant. The fanfare around Gasol started when he became a free agent last season, but it’s grown stronger ever since his brother Marc signed a two-year contract with the Lakers on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Marc didn’t have any breaking news regarding that prospect during his interview with Allie Cliffton of Spectrum SportsNet on Wednesday, but he did say that Pau would almost certainly welcome a reunion with the Lakers if the opportunity presented itself:

“I’m not a very social media guy, but I know Pau loves L.A. and loves the Lakers. Obviously he feels like it’s home, so I’m sure that he would love to come back, but that’s question for Rob and ownership.”

But, to be honest, even Marc’s comments are hardly news. In May, Gasol said himself that the idea of playing returning to the Lakers for one last season in the NBA is “appealing” to him.” More recently, the 40-year-old big man liked a tweet about him retiring with the Lakers next season.

So, the interest is clearly there on Pau’s side. Now, we’ll have to wait and see if the Lakers show any real interest as more free agents come off the board. I mean, they are looking for another big man, aren’t they?

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.