Report: Lakers called Nets about swapping Gasol for Lopez

A lot has happened in the last two weeks with a pair of big-money teams: the Los Angeles Lakers pulled Pau Gasol off the market and the Brooklyn Nets lost Brook Lopez for the season when he suffered another break in his foot.

Before the courses shifted, the Lakers reached out to the Nets to gauge the team's interest in swapping Gasol for Lopez, reports ESPN's Marc Stein. According to sources, the Nets balked at the idea when it was presented.

Even if it was just a harmless phone call to determine the veteran Gasol's value, Stein writes the Lakers' inquiry on a player owed $32.5 million over the next two seasons (after 2013-14) is uncharacteristic:

"Trading for a highly paid player whose contract stretches into 2015-16 is something else entirely. That strategy has long been seen as a non-option for the Lakers, based on the premise that [...] acquiring someone like Lopez would almost certainly complicate L.A.'s long-held desire to make a free-agent splash in the summer of 2015."

The Lakers didn't enter the season with any intention of trading Gasol, though his public statements on his misuse in coach Mike D'Antoni's lineup opened the door to discussion.

An earlier ESPN report noted team officials communicated to Gasol "in various ways" that the Lakers are interested in keeping the 33-year-old in the building beyond this season.