Marc Gasol has been the Lakers primary center all season. However, with the arrival of Andre Drummond, Gasol’s minutes are in line for a serious reduction. During Drummond’s Lakers debut, he combined to play 40 minutes with Montrezl Harrell while Gasol only played a season-low 6 minutes. If that’s any indication of what’s to come in the future, Gasol didn’t seem too happy about it.
After the team’s 115-94 win over the Sacramento Kings, Gasol spoke up to the media about his thoughts on how his role willy play out moving forward.
“Things can change quickly in the NBA, just as they have changed for me. But, I’m committed to this team. It’s a hard pill to swallow because I know I’m going to be out of the lineup at some point. It’s never easy on a player. As a basketball player, you want to play. You want to contribute, especially when you made that commitment for that reason. But, we’ll see.”
Gasol clearly isn’t excited about there being some competition at the position, or at the very least he doesn’t see the rest of the season playing out well for him. To be fair, Gasol is having one of his worst seasons in his career. So far this season he is averaging 4.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and a 40.3 field goal percentage, all career lows.
It’s not like he was playing his best basketball before Drummond arrived or was playing a lot of minutes on the court. In fact, he was averaging 19.5 minutes, splitting time with Montrezl Harrell.
Still, Gasol’s comments may draw some concern about his presence on the team. When he signed a two-year, $5.3 million deal, Gasol was not only looking for a chance to win, but a chance to actually play and not serve as a low-minute player. However, just as he mentioned to the media, things can change rather quickly when you’re playing in the NBA and seeking a ring.
