Toronto Raptors: Should the Raptors pursue a Marc Gasol reunion if the Lakers buy him out?

The Toronto Raptors have seen their chances to contend completely derailed this season, and the lack of quality at the center position is the main reason why. When Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka left town, the Raptors replaced them with Aron Baynes and Alex Len, both of whom have struggled mightily.

While Gasol was excellent in Toronto, he is starting to show his age with the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol is averaging just 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game with LA, and his inability to develop any sort of consistency on offense is a huge reason as to why the Lakers brought in Andre Drummond after his buyout.

Gasol has admitted that it is tough watching Drummond take some of his minutes away. With Gasol unhappy and in a reduced role alongside Drummond and Montrezl Harrell, buyout rumors have started.

Could Gasol, against all odds, make a triumphant return to the Raptors, especially after Nick Nurse hinted they would be active in the buyout market? Possibly, but don’t get your hopes up. You’re not getting the Gasol that helped the Raptors take home a championship, as this season has exposed just how much Father Time has caught up with the Spanish stud.

Toronto Raptors: Marc Gasol is a non-factor on offense

Even getting a crack at Gasol could be tough. Yes, he’s struggling, but a defensive-minded coach like Frank Vogel will likely need a lot of convincing before he ends up just letting him go for no reason.

Gasol would be a massive upgrade over Baynes on the defensive end, and he could still be a slight upgrade on the offensive side. Despite that, he is not the player he was with the Raptors over the last few years. Even though he was a slow, stiff player for Toronto, he looks even slower and stiffer with the Lakers, and the poor efficiency is the final nail in the coffin.

The Raptors will likely get a new center in 2021. This can entail either splurging on a free agent, pulling off one of those classic Masai Ujiri trades, or finding one like USC’s Evan Mobley in the draft. What advantage is there to bringing back Gasol for the next handful of games? This team won’t do any damage in the postseason, and he’ll be somewhere else in 2021-22 anyway.

Gasol would be an upgrade over Baynes, but the Raptors will likely try to get a long-term solution at the position sorted out. Bringing back Gasol for 25 games when he likely won’t be back in 2021-22 anyway wouldn’t have much basketball sense behind it, in essence making it a move based purely on sentiment.