
In case you missed the memo, the NBA trade deadline is just around the corner. Feb. 7 will be here before you know it, and the Sacramento Kings, with their stack of cap space and bevy of expiring contracts, are winning the “team most likely to be mentioned” award.
The latest rumor has Vlade Divac and his group calling on Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. According to a published report from The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, “The Kings and Pistons have expressed interest, according to multiple league sources.”
According to O’Connor, the Grizzlies are attempting to attach the albatross that is Chandler Parsons to any deal. That’s unlikely to happen in Sacramento or anywhere else.
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Gasol is on the books for $24.1 million this season with a player option next season for $25.6 million. Giving up assets for a player on the wrong side of 30 that can walk away for nothing in the offseason isn’t an ideal situation to start.
Absorbing Parsons in any trade should be a non-starter for Sacramento. The 30-year-old has played a total of 73 games over the last three seasons. He makes $24.1 million this season and another $25.1 million next season.
At one point, Parsons was an up-and-coming wing that might have fit perfectly into the Kings’ uptempo style. A series of knee issues have all but ended his career.
Gasol continues to produce for the Grizzlies in his eleventh NBA season. The 33-year-old, who will turn 34 on Jan. 29, is posting 15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 33.7 minutes per game. While he isn’t built for the pace the Kings play at, he is an experienced former All-Star that could help stabilize the Kings on both ends of the floor.
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The Spaniard is also close with Kings coach Dave Joerger, who spent nine seasons as both an assistant and head coach in Memphis. If there is a coach that understands how to utilize Gasol, it’s Joerger.
Sacramento could easily cobble together a group of expiring contracts to match Gasol’s money, including former Grizzly, Zach Randolph and his $11.7 million owed this season. They might even have a few assets to throw in on a deal, although Gasol might be nothing more than a 30 game rental at this point.