NBA Rumors: Gasol-Walker Tandem Would Have Happened In Charlotte Last Season

The Charlotte Hornets are prepping for a new era although there will be a changing of the guard. Most know by now how the Hornets traded away Kemba Walker to the Boston Celtics and will now try to see how Terry Rozier will pan out.

The Hornets ended up technically rebuilding with a new core. But a recent revelation by Walker hints that it may not have readily been the case had they landed a popular big man last NBA season. That player in mention is no other than Marc Gasol.

Sources told Roderick Boone of The Athletic that the Hornets were on the verge of pulling off a trade for Gasol but things fell apart. It turns out that the Spaniard was not willing to commit beyond the 2018-19 NBA season, thus resulting in botched talks.

Most know by now that Gasol eventually joined the Toronto Raptors and even won a title. Things eventually turned out well for the 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and he eventually opted to stay with the team at least for the 2019-20 wars. Could it have been the same had the Hornets won the NBA title last season?

Looking at the performance of the Hornets last NBA season, Charlotte did not even manage to get to the post-season wars. There was no assurance that a Walker and Gasol tandem would reap dividends, probably the reason why the Spaniard opted not to commit.

It was evident that Charlotte needed to rebuild. Initially, it seemed that Walker would be the center of it all until he was dealt with the Celtics. For the coming season, they are not expected to create an immediate buzz. In fact, pundits feel that it will take some time since the team has opted to develop young players moving forward.

Similar to last season, the Hornets are unlikely to make the NBA playoffs. They are undergoing a rebuilding process and have shown no signs of investing heavily in developed superstars.

In focus will be Rozier who had his qualms about the Celtics. Initially, he was on the verge of heading to the Phoenix Suns. But he revealed in an interview with the Bleacher Report that it was Michael Jordan that changed everything.

" I’d be a fool if I was to go anywhere else or turn down that,” he said. “I look at it as just a team, organization believing in me. Knowing that I want to prove myself in this league and giving me that chance is bigger than anything and [their willingness] to pay me a right amount of money, it was just big and the guy that was behind all that was Michael Jordan. It’s still surreal to me," said Rozier.