San Antonio Spurs Would Be Perfect Fit For Pau Gasol In Free Agency

Pau Gasol has a big decision to make this summer. The next contract he signs could very well be the last one of his career, and he wants to join a team that is within reach of the championship. The Chicago Bulls were clearly not there last season, and it would be surprising to see him return to that franchise.

Gasol had a great year when you consider his numbers. He averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 blocks per game, and his PER was 21.76. If you put any stock into the player efficiency rating statistic, then he was one of the top 20 men in the league last season.

His brother, Marc Gasol, has an interesting idea. He thinks his older sibling should sign with the San Antonio Spurs, and they would be a fantastic fit if the team didn’t already have Tim Duncan, David West and LaMarcus Aldridge on the roster. Here is Marc’s reasoning to envision Pau in silver and black.

“For what the franchise represents,” he said to Baloncesto. “By the way they work, how they treat their players, their winning culture: no matter what they follow a defined course and do not change.”

Now, if Duncan retires, then it would be an absolutely perfect situation. The only reason San Antonio might pause before adding Pau would have to do with age, but the team hasn’t had a problem incorporating veterans in the past. Gasol might not be interested in such a small market, because he is a cultured man who loves opera, expensive restaurants and other things only offered by large cities. That is why Chicago looked like such a great spot for him at first, but that team ended up never achieving their potential.

Head coach Gregg Popovich has enormous respect for Pau after all of San Antonio’s playoff battles against the Los Angeles Lakers, and Gasol would meld right into the Spurs’ philosophy of moving the basketball. It should be intriguing to watch what he does in the end, but he will have plenty of options after the brilliant season we just witnessed.

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