In the summer of 2014, Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol was among several big names were on the free-agent market (there was some guy named LeBron James out there, too). Although Gasol eventually decided to head to the Eastern Conference and sign with the Chicago Bulls, Gasol was close to joining the team that ousted his Lakers from the 2014 playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs. Gasol, who did sign with the Spurs this summer, revealed how he was almost San Antonio-bound two years ago in a recent interview transcribed by Eurohoops.net:
Before returning to the States, Pau Gasol was the main speaker in a sponsorship event in which he revealed that in the past he had denied the offer to play with the Spurs.
“Two years ago I declined the option of going to the Spurs. Now it was the right time to go to San Antonio”, explained the Spaniard: “Popovich has he told me that I will contribute a lot and along with LaMarcus Aldridge, without Tim Duncan any more, I will be one of the leaders of the team in the front line”.
For many years the idea of Gasol playing the final seasons of his career in Spain was a popular rumor in Europe, but now this is not happening: “While still playing in the NBA, my chances of returning to FC Barcelona are reduced. It’s a nice idea, but becoming less and less possible. My hope of playing for the national team remains the same, evaluating it year by year and analyzing how my body adapts to the workload.”
