Report: Pau Gasol asking for $10-$12 million in free agency
While several teams are going compete for Pau Gasol’s interest in free agency, it’s going to take a nice lump sump to acquire him according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
"The cost for Gasol could still be prohibitive for the Heat, but there’s little doubt he could be an intriguing part to a supporting cast in Miami. So far, Gasol is still pushing for a $10 million-$12 million annual salary, league sources said."
Based on the current market for centers, Pau Gasol is probably worth $10 to $11 million. Defensively he’s a sieve now, but he remains one of the better offensive centers in the NBA. Last year with the Lakers, Gasol averaged 17.4 points on an extremely efficient 48 percent shooting while grabbing 9.7 rebounds and dishing 3.0 assists per game last season. Blake Griffin was the only player alongside Pau to average 17/9/8 while shooting 48 percent in the NBA last year.
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Depending on what Gasol favors more, winning or money, that could dictate how much he’ll earn next season. The winning teams that are interested in Pau Gasol don’t have the cap space to afford $10-$12 million. And the teams that do have the space, they aren’t in the position to compete for a championship.
Regardless of what Gasol makes next season, it’ll be a large pay cut from the $19 million he made last season.
So far the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls are some of the teams to have expressed interest in Gasol since the start of free agency.