by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
With free agency looming, Pau Gasol has made it clear (time and again) that he’d love to stay in Hollywood. If the money is right, of course.
The reality is that, this could very well be the last season with Gasol in Los Angeles Lakers garb.
Should the 33-year old Gasol head elsewhere, the big fella certainly wouldn’t mind playing for the Grizzlies again — Pau spent the first 6 1/2 years of his career in Memphis before he was traded to LA.
Per NBA.com:
“There’s different factors you have to take into account,” Gasol said. “The financial factor. That I’ve been with this franchise, for what I’ve been through, the loyalty I have to them. And also the chances of winning a championship. Those three are the most. What percentage I will give or prioritize, we’ll see when the opportunities come along. But I would like to first be in a position to win a championship again and enjoy the last few years of my career and be in a good position to do so.”
“It’s appealing,” Pau Gasol said about playing for the Grizz and with Marc Gasol. “One of the best centers in the NBA, one of the best interior players, is my brother. There’s a lot of attractive factors there. But who knows if that’s even a possibility or if that will ever happen. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on (the Lakers’ opponents) and staying healthy and playing a very successful year so this team and others will have the certainty and the confidence that I am a difference maker, that I am an elite player and I have a lot of years in me.”
Given the state of their finances, the Lakers will have to make a tough decision regarding Pau Gasol (who’s shooting just 41.7% from the field this season), and should Memphis be interested in re-acquiring the third pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, they certainly have the resources to make it happen.
You can’t blame a guy in the twilight of his career for wanting to play alongside his younger brother.
