Pau Gasol could be joining a dynasty come this summer's free agency.
After missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, the Chicago Bulls are heading into the offseason trying to revamp their roster. One of the names that could possibly exit Wind City is Gasol, who is expected to opt out of the final term of his three-year $22.3 million contract with the Bulls.
Gasol is set to explore the free agency market, but there is a chance the Spaniard may have already made up his mind. According to his brother Memphis Grizzlies center Marc, the two-time NBA champion could be joining the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason.
Matt Moore of CBS Sports believes Gasol joining the Spurs "makes sense on a lot of levels," given the 35-year-old's intention to join a contender and win another title before he gets to call it quits. Moore also added that Gasol would fit well in the Spurs' "globalist culture," with the team having been known to recruit talented international players.
But the more interesting factor that may lure Gasol to playing under Gregg Popovich could be the chance to prolong his career, just what the Spurs' did to the 40-year-old Tim Duncan, as noted by Maxwell Ogden of Hoops Habit.
"San Antonio does an excellent job of managing minutes, injuries, and the aging process. Gasol, who will turn 36 in July, would benefit from playing in a system that's not only perfect for his skill set, but values their players' health and overall morale," Ogden wrote.
"By joining the Spurs, Gasol could both extend his career and compete for a championship."
Gasol, despite his age, would still be a major boost at the four and five spot, averaging 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds for the Bulls this season. The Spurs could preserve Gasol by playing him off the bench behind LaMarcus Aldridge, although the former could also start alongside the latter albeit in limited minutes.
There is no telling yet whether Gasol would really pick the Spurs over other NBA teams who could offer the Spanish big man more lucrative contracts. But with the Bulls seemingly heading into a different direction after failing to reach the playoffs, the only guaranteed move could be Gasol not staying in Chicago and the team's executive Gar Forman may have just confirmed that.
"We value Pau and we like Pau, but anytime you have a restricted free agency you know there's going to be opportunities and you could lose an unrestricted free agent," Forman said as he addressed the future of the Bulls earlier this month.
"But in our situation if you really study where we're at in our books and everything else, if that were to happen with any unrestricted free agent then the benefit of that is cap room, and cap room is an asset. So we felt the cap room was much more of an asset than anything that was in front of us.''