Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James appears to be happy with his team's offseason acquisition of three-time All-Star Marc Gasol.
James sent out an Instagram post to welcome Gasol to the Lakers family shortly after news of his deal went live:
LeBron welcomes Marc Gasol to the Lakers: “😤😤😤💪🏾 Welcome Big Fella! YESSIR!! @MARCGASOL” pic.twitter.com/hBiGPcJGPZ
— LakeShow (@LakeShowCP) November 24, 2020
Earlier this week, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers were signing Gasol to a two-year deal. The Spanish-born center will look to fill a void that was created by the departures of Dwight Howard, who traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Javale McGee, who is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Marc Gasol is finalizing a deal to sign with the Lakers, sources tell me and @ZachLowe_NBA.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 23, 2020
Interestingly enough, Gasol was drafted by the Lakers with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. However, his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for his brother, Pau, before playing a single game.
Gasol, now 35 years of age, should give the Lakers a solid presence in the paint. Furthermore, he'll serve as a nice complimentary piece alongside Anthony Davis, who is still working with the team on the details of an extension.
In his 44 regular season appearances with the Raptors last season, Gasol racked up averages of 7.5 points on 42.7 percent shooting from the field (38.5 percent from beyond the arc), 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Notably, his mark from three-point land was the second-highest of his career.
In other offseason moves, the Lakers acquired shooting guard Wesley Matthews, point guard Dennis Schröder and former Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell. By most accounts, these were upgrades to the team's roster. For now, we'll have to wait and see if they were enough for a title defense in the coming campaign.
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