Getty Pau Gasol guarding Derrick Rose.
The Los Angeles Lakers are just starting to put the finishing touches on their offseason and many believe that they’ve done a great job. They lost some key players like Rajon Rondo and Danny Green, but they’ve also added younger studs like Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell. However, they didn’t only just get you younger. They also signed 35-year-old Marc Gasol.
His brother, Pau, was a huge contributor for two Lakers championships and now he’ll get a chance to follow in his footsteps. That said, Pau might be trying to get in on the action, as well. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report posted a tweet about how he’d like to see Los Angeles sign Pau so that he can retire as a member of the team. If you go look at Pau’s liked tweets on Twitter, that tweet is among them.
Pau Gasol likes this tweet saying the Lakers should sign him, or at least sign him so he can retire a Laker. 🍿
(via @EricPincus)
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Pau Gasol Saved the Lakers
It can’t be understated how important Pau Gasol is to the history of the Lakers. While everybody looks back at Kobe Bryant as a Laker-lifer, it almost wasn’t that way. He requested a trade from the team back in 2007 after it looked like they didn’t have anything going for them. It did not appear there was anything they could do to change his mind. That was until they landed Gasol.
Once Gasol was traded to the team, they turned things around immediately. They went from a low-end playoff team to a championship contender. In fact, they won a championship the second year he was with the team. Had it not been for him coming in and playing at a high level, the Lakers would’ve been in a very different state. They might have had to move on from Kobe which would’ve been a public relations nightmare. They’d also almost certainly have at least two fewer championships on the books.
Gasol was never the team’s best player but he might be the most important from 2007-2014. Though his ability on the court has been diminished, he deserves a chance to retire as a Laker and he also deserves his number hung up in the rafters. He’s been aiming at a return for a while now and maybe he will finally get his chance.
Marc Gasol Signing Made Official
It was already widely reported that the Lakers had signed Marc Gasol but they’ve finally made it official.
OFFICIAL: Marc Gasol is a Laker 💛
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Gasol has signed a two-year deal worth $5.3 million. He said that there’s no player or team option so it looks like both sides are stuck with each other for the next couple of seasons unless he decides to retire.
Gasol doesn’t have the same amount of athletism that the recently departed JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard does but he makes it up with his skill. He can shoot better than both men and is also a stout defender. This was a sneaky good pickup by the reigning champions.
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