In any language, Gasol is happy to be here

WASHINGTON -- Pau Gasol didn’t play, but it didn’t matter. He was still the story of the day.

While much of Los Angeles was asleep Sunday morning, Gasol spoke at a crowded news conference at 7:30 a.m. PST, 90 minutes before the Lakers played the Washington Wizards here.

The first several questions and answers were in Spanish, but it was still easy for non-Spanish speakers to discern Gasol’s happiness, if not relief, to be with the Lakers instead of the Memphis Grizzlies, who traded him to L.A. on Friday.

“The best part is that right away I will have a chance to win,” he said in flawless English. “We have the opportunity to go out there and accomplish something great and something special.”

For Gasol, it will have to wait until Tuesday’s game at New Jersey.

After crisscrossing the U.S. on Saturday (Memphis to L.A. for a physical, L.A. to Washington to catch up with the team), Gasol sat out Sunday’s game, as per Coach Phil Jackson’s wishes.

“We want him to get his feet underneath him and practice [today] and see how he feels,” Jackson said. “Let him play with the guys before going in an NBA game.”

Gasol’s sore back, which caused the Spaniard to sit out three of his last four games with the Grizzlies, was also a contributing factor. The condition is not considered serious, although he spent part of the first half of Sunday’s game working out with Chip Schaefer and Alex McKechnie of the Lakers’ athletic performance staff.

Gasol was on the bench for the second half, wearing a blue blazer over a gray designer T-shirt.

He seemed fine with leaving a team that was 13-33 at the time of the trade and was 0-12 in playoff games in his previous six seasons.

“I always consider myself a winner and a competitor, and the last few years in Memphis, I haven’t been able to achieve my goals team-wise,” he said. “It’s been frustrating, but that’s the kind of situation I was in.”

He had subtly, yet steadily, expressed unhappiness with the direction of the Grizzlies but thought it was to no avail.

“At first I had the impression that the Grizzlies, or [owner Michael] Heisley, were asking only, like, star for star [in a trade]. If I was going to go to the Lakers, there’s no way that Kobe [Bryant] would go to Memphis. It was just too complicated.”

Then came Friday morning.

“I was shocked when I got the news after practice,” he said. “I was surprised, and now I’m starting to digest everything that’s gone on and going to come from now on. I’m definitely excited about everything. . . . I’m happy to be a Laker.”

The Lakers and Gasol were energized by the trade, but not everybody around the league hailed it.

“I could care less about that,” Detroit Pistons forward-center Rasheed Wallace told the Detroit Free Press. “. . . It’s got nothing to do with me, it ain’t affecting me in no way. If it works for them, good. I’ll see them in June.”

Still, the normally stoic Bryant was elated enough to throw in a one-liner when asked if he thought the Lakers were done trading before the Feb. 21 deadline.

“I let [General Manager] Mitch [Kupchak] handle that stuff,” he said. “I stopped playing GM over the summer.”

Luke Walton returned Sunday after a two-game absence because of a right hip injury. He had four points in 14 minutes.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com