Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol is clearly unhappy with his situation in Mike D'Antoni's offense, and their rift has become public fodder. Despite that, the Lakers have removed their big man from the trading block and will keep him for the rest of the season, according to reports.
Earlier in the week Gasol blamed his career-low shooting percentage and overall downgraded play on a lack of aggressiveness caused by uncertainty in his usage.
"The fact that I'm not getting the ball in the post affects directly my aggressiveness," Gasol said. "When I'm not getting the ball where I want to, where I'm most effective, where I can bang guys and utilize my skill, that affects my aggressiveness and overall intensity."
D'Antoni, whose issues with Gasol date back to last season when he relegated Pau to the bench with Dwight Howard in the fold, lashed out at his center in response. "The biggest thing is, everybody, to a man, we've just got to play harder and worry about things less," D'Antoni said.
When asked if Pau should be used in the post more, D'Antoni acknowledged he might need to get him more touches there, but regardless his energy level should always be high. "That's one thing, if they just don't want to do it that way. Then you have to accept it or not. But there's no reason to not play hard."
It was then leaked that Gasol was on the trading block, with a potential Omer Asik deal in the works centering on a big man swap. That looks to have been withdrawn though, as D'Antoni's pushing the narrative that their differences are behind them.
"I just think people go through periods of slumps where you question things," the coach said after L.A. got a win Tuesday. "Like I said, we were out of whack. Different things go on. But Pau's an All-Star, he's one of the best players in the league, he worked through it and he's back to normal."
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