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Pau Gasol has joined the San Antonio Spurs, and this situation is the perfect fit for both sides. Gasol had a fantastic individual season with the Chicago Bulls, but they ended up missing the playoffs in embarrassing fashion. Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah were pouting all year because of Jimmy Butler‘s leadership style, and Derrick Rose‘s game was nowhere to be found after fracturing his face before the year even began.
Gasol was waiting for Kevin Durant to take his pick in free agency, and the Spanish big man chose to sign with the Spurs as a result of the forward’s decision. San Antonio has no chance to keep up with the Golden State Warriors from an athletic perspective, and so the Spurs wisely went with size. Head coach Gregg Popovich will have plenty of options, because GM R.C. Buford has crafted a team that can face a variety of opponents. Gasol loved living in Chicago due to all of its quality restaurants and cultural opportunities, but he wanted to spend the twilight of his career playing for a franchise with championship aspirations.
It will be interesting to watch what happens with Tim Duncan, because he might be more interested in retiring then seeing all of his minutes go to an old Western Conference rival. Duncan and Gasol had many playoff battles against each other, although there isn’t hatred between the two at the level of Timmy and Kevin Garnett. This signing has the potential to put a beautiful capstone on Gasol’s career, but he will be a Hall of Famer regardless of what happens in San Antonio.
He averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in the 2015-16 season, and he’ll be a crucial part of the Spurs next year. They might have missed out on Durant, but they certainly couldn’t have asked for a greater consolation prize than Gasol.
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