Pau Gasol Trade

Lore & Background

Gasol was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. In 2001, he moved as a teenager with his parents to the Memphis suburb of Germantown, Tennessee, after his older brother Pau joined the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol played high school basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis. Nicknamed 'The Big Burrito,' he was named Division 2's Mr. Basketball in 2003 following a senior season in which he averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks per game. In 2008, Lausanne retired Gasol's number 33 jersey. After graduating from Lausanne, Gasol returned to his home country of Spain to play in the Liga ACB for FC Barcelona. After three seasons with Barcelona, Gasol was drafted by the NBA in 2007 and moved to Girona in 2008. He was named the ACB Most Valuable Player in 2008 while still with Barcelona.

In Their Own Story

The air in the Staples Center hummed with a tension that felt different from any previous playoff game. Kobe Bryant drove into the paint, drawing three defenders, before whipping a no-look pass to the high post where Pau Gasol stood like a giant sentry. The Spanish center caught the ball, pivoted smoothly against his defender, and delivered a perfect outlet pass to a cutting Lamar Odom for an easy layup. It was a sequence played out thousands of times during those championship seasons—a silent conversation between giants that had begun with a single trade on a February night in 2008.

Reader's Guide

Gasol was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. On February 1, 2008, his draft rights were traded by the Lakers to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a trade package that included his older brother, Pau, who was sent from the Grizzlies to the Lakers. On July 9, 2008, he signed with the Grizzlies. He set a franchise rookie record for field goal percentage in a season with 53 percent. He subsequently earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors. After averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds as a rookie, he averaged 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 2009–10 with a career-best .581 field goal percentage. The 2010–11 season saw Gasol average 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, a career-high 2.5 assists and 1.68 blocks in 81 games (all starts). He then posted 15.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.15 blocks in helping lead the Grizzlies through a 13-game run in the 2011 NBA Playoffs. On December 14, 2011, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies to a four-year, $58 million contract. On February 9, 2012, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. In 2012–13, he was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Grizzlies history to earn the honour, the first Spanish man to win, and the first European to win. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team. In 2013–14, a left MCL sprain sidelined him for 23 games. The 2014–15 season saw Gasol earn his second NBA All-Star selection, earning his first All-Star start, and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time. He averaged a career-best 17.4 points. On July 13, 2015, Gasol re-signed with the Grizzlies on a five-year maximum contract worth an estimated $110 million. On November 20, he recorded his first career triple-double. On January 25, 2017, he scored a career-high 42 points. On January 26, he was named an NBA All-Star for the third time. On February 7, 2019, Gasol was traded to the Toronto Raptors. He helped the Raptors reach the 2019 NBA Finals and won an NBA championship. He rejoined the Lakers in 2020 for one season.

Did You Know?

• Gasol was drafted 48th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA draft.
• His draft rights were traded to Memphis in February 2008 in a deal that sent his older brother Pau Gasol to the Lakers.
• He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
• He won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
• He returned to the Lakers in November 2020 and played parts of two seasons (2020–21 and 2021–22) before being traded in February 2022.