Pau Gasol recently said he’s “very likely” to opt out of his contract this coming summer. That isn’t too surprising, considering his player option would give him slightly less than $7.7MM next season, a low number for a starting center. What’s more, Gasol will likely secure at least a two-year deal in the open market. While his production is down this year, Gasol is still averaging 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
At 35, Gasol’s best years are behind him, but he appears to have plenty left in the tank. The Bulls will reportedly make a push to re-sign him, but there should be no shortage of potential suitors to compete with for Gasol’s services.
That leads us to the question for today: Which team do you expect Pau Gasol to be playing for next season?
Being mindful of our commenting policy, let us know in the comments section below what you think. We look forward to learning about what you have to share.
I am going to write about it soon at my site, NewYorkSportsGuys.com, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pau spend his last years with Phil and the New York Knicks. I think Phil knows Gasol would be the perfect mentor for Kristaps Porzingis and they might be a playoff team next year as well.
I would agree with that, but I’m curious about minutes allocation there. Porzingis has shown that he should be on the court now. I also like the dynamic of Lopez protecting the rim there. I guess they could try to trade Lopez for an option on the wing or a draft pick, but I don’t know if that is necessarily how they should approach the offseason.
There’s no reason Gasol can’t be the main backup big and average anywhere from 20-25mpg. In his age 36 and 37 seasons that’s just the right amount of minutes and he’s versatile enough to fit along either KP or Lopez.
Memphis
I think there are multiple possibilities, some of which could be dependent on what happens with other free agents. I could see him ending up with the Bulls, Knicks, Suns, Celtics, Grizzlies, Hawks, Raptors, or Hornets under different circumstances.
Memphis, I wish it was the bulls, but he will finish his career with his brother.
Memphis makes the most sense. He can end his career where it started and play with his brother like it’s the Spanish National Team.
Wraptors or Memphis
Jabari Young of the San Antonio News-Express brought it up, and I think he has the right idea: the Spurs. Who’s going to play center when Tim Duncan retires? Not LaMarcus Aldridge. Gasol has the perfect skillset for the Spurs system, and San Antonio was in the mix for him when he was a free agent in 2014.
Is Duncan retiring at any point in the next couple of years though? He could play another 2 years after this, in my estimation