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Without question, Marc Gasol is a seamless fit with the Toronto Raptors.
First-year head coach Nick Nurse rejuvenated Jonas Valanciunas' career this season by bringing him off the bench, allowing the seven-foot behemoth to wreak havoc in the post against opposing second-unit big men.
Gasol, at 34, is more similar to Valanciunas than their disparate reputations league-wide make it seem, especially given the latter's slow, sure development into a semi-viable three-point threat over the last two seasons. Still, it goes without saying that the Raptors have bigger plans for Gasol than plugging and playing him in the role previously occupied by the departing Valanciunas.
What that means for Nick Nurse's rotation is unclear at this point. Serge Ibaka, left for dead by many after his thoroughly depressing playoff performance last spring, has found new life starting at center for Toronto.
Ibaka is posting career-high usage and assist rates, showing increased comfort making plays with the ball in space, and shooting a red-hot 49.1 percent from mid-range – seventh in the league behind the likes of C.J. McCollum, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and J.J. Redick. But, he's connecting on just 26.2 percent of his three-point attempts, a career-low since he first ventured beyond the arc, and is no longer the switchy rim-protector he was during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Gasol expects to start, and probably deserves to despite his recent struggles after busting out of the gate in the season's early going. Even in his prime, Big Spain was a bit over-stretched as a fulcrum of the Memphis Grizzlies' offensive attack. Grit ‘N Grind, after all, never finished better than 13th in offensive rating, even during its heyday as a dangerous sub-contender in the Western Conference.
Just imagine what Gasol will be able to do as a high-post playmaker surrounded by Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Danny Green. He'll benefit his teammates without the ball, too, spacing to the arc to widen driving lanes for Leonard and Siakam. It's also easy to see Gasol quickly developing the ball-screen chemistry with Lowry he had for so many years playing beside Mike Conley.
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There will be matchups for which Ibaka is better suited, especially in the playoffs. Gasol has lost a step, or perhaps two, since winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2013, and even then his effectiveness was more about corralling ball handlers and walling off the paint through a keen understanding of angles and positioning than putting out fires all over the floor.
The Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving and Al Horford exploited Joel Embiid's defensive limitations in the second round of last year's playoffs by picking and popping the Philadelphia 76ers big man to death, and would undoubtedly try the same tactic against Toronto with Gasol manning the middle. On the other hand, he's much better matchup than Ibaka on Embiid, who's at times been frustrated by the sheer size of Valanciunas when facing the Raptors over the last couple years.
Nurse hasn't been afraid to tinker with lineups and playing styles this season, and adding Gasol to the fold affords him even more flexibility and creativity in that regard. Valanciunas, remember, started 10 of the season's first 30 games before being sidelined with a dislocated left thumb in mid December.
There's a good chance Nurse reverts back to sometimes changing his starting lineup over the season's remainder, slotting Gasol or Ibaka at center to open games depending on individual matchups – a gambit he's almost certain to try in the playoffs. As influential as Gasol would be playing with Toronto's starters, it's almost equally tantalizing to visualize him in Valanciunas' old role, taking full advantage of court spacing he's never enjoyed to beast overmatched opponents on the block.
The Raptors' versatility has always been their greatest strength. Toronto can play fast, pinging the ball all over the floor to en route to three after three. It can play slow, milking Leonard's isolation excellence for all its worth while pounding the offensive glass. The Raptors can play big, helping and recovering without sacrificing speed, or they can play small, switching everything across the court with little negative recourse.
Trading for Gasol doesn't put Toronto over the top in the East. The competition at the top of the conference is just too good, especially in wake of the deadline. But, his presence does further maximize the Raptors' greatest strength, malleability, while expanding the scope of what's possible for them offensively – whether he's a cog in the machine with the starters, its engine on the second unit, or both as unique circumstances of time, score, and personnel warrant during the course of a single game.
It remains to been how exactly Gasol will be integrated with Toronto. The Raptors, though, will be better off for it on both ends of the floor no matter the case, which could prove the difference between a second-round loss and appearance in the NBA Finals.
