After a championship season last year, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2020-21 NBA season as the clear favorites to repeat as champions due to some incredible key offseason acquisitions.
Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol were the three biggest names to join the Lakers this season and with Harrell and Gasol joining Anthony Davis in the frontcourt, Los Angeles was expected to have one of the better frontcourts in the NBA, but things have not been fantastic on that end of the court.
Davis seems to be alright after suffering an adductor strain in his hip and Montrezl Harrell has provided a sense of stability off the bench, but Marc Gasol has been a big disappointment on both ends of the court. He is averaging just 4.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and teams have seemed to zone in on him when attacking offensively.
Last year, the Lakers’ frontcourt was described as being bruising and extremely physical with JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard playing alongside AD down low, but this year, this frontcourt seems soft.
Marc Gasol has been getting exposed by other teams on the defensive end of the court and they have been attacking him since he is susceptible to fouling. He leads the team in personal fouls per game and does not look like the defender he has been over the years with Toronto and Memphis.
Maybe it is a sign of Gasol’s career coming to an end or maybe it is because he is trying to get acclimated to a new system in Los Angeles, but he looks lost out there on the court for the Lakers, which could be concerning in their efforts to repeat as champions.
Anthony Davis and Montrezl Harrell will eventually need some extra help in the frontcourt and given Gasol’s lack of toughness early on in the season, could they look to possibly bring back Dwight Howard? He recently signed a contract this offseason with Philly and is ineligible to be traded until February 18th, but the possibility of bringing Howard back to bring some physicality to this Lakers’ frontcourt could be legit.
Let’s take a look at a possible trade between the Lakers and the 76ers that would send Dwight Howard back to Los Angeles.
