The Lakers Are Reportedly Thinking About Trading Pau Gasol to the Cavaliers for Andrew Bynum

The deal could happen soon.

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Complex Original

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Is Andrew Bynum headed back to Los Angeles to rejoin the Lakers? Maybe.

According to an ESPN story that broke late last night, the Lakers are thinking about sending Pau Gasol to the Cavaliers sometime over the course of the next week in exchange for Bynum, who spent the beginning of his career playing in Los Angeles before getting dealt to the 76ers back in 2012. However, the Lakers are reportedly not interested in adding Bynum to their roster. Instead, they want to make a deal with the Cavaliers because Bynum has a clause in his contract that guarantees him $12.25 million if he's still with either the Cavaliers or another NBA team by the time January 7 rolls arounds. If Bynum is waived before that date, though, whoever waives him could potentially save quite a bit of money and put themselves in much better position for next season in terms of the salary cap. In the Lakers' case, they could save about $20 million by trading for and then releasing Bynum.

A deal involving Gasol and Bynum isn't imminent at the moment. It sounds like the Lakers are hesitant to simply trade away Gasol in exchange for a guy who they will then release. They want the Cavaliers to give them someone else in addition to Bynum. But it's worth keeping an eye on this possible trade, because Bynum was suspended by the Cavaliers recently and it doesn't seem like Cleveland is all that interested in keeping him beyond January 7. So a deal could get done with either the Lakers or some other team over the course of the next week. Stay tuned.

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[via ESPN]

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