When the Toronto Raptors first acquired Marc Gasol back in February, there were question marks. Not many, but enough to raise a reasonable amount of doubt about the trade itself. Whether or not the Raptors could integrate the recently turned 34-year old into their system was a question that needed answering.
Did Gasol still have enough left in the tank to be a tipping point for a Toronto Raptors team that was hoping to push themselves closer towards title contention?
Again, that would remain to be seen.
Gasol was still a terrific player, but, at the time, he was no longer seen as a viable Defensive Player of the Year candidate as he was back in the 2012-13 NBA season when he actually won the award.