Pau Gasol says he’s close to making free agency decision
By Sam Richmond
Pau Gasol is cutting out the middle man and has directly let the world know on Twitter that he’s nearing a decision on where he will play next season.
I'm very close to deciding. Thank you all for your interest and support! #FreeAgency
— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) July 11, 2014
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News is reporting that there are four teams in the mix for Gasol’s services.
If Phil can add Pau Gasol that would be huge addition for the Knicks. Keep hearing Bulls, Spurs & Thunder for Gasol but Knicks have a shot
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) July 11, 2014
Gasol would be an enormous addition to any of those four teams. He’s nearing the end of his career at age 34, but he’s still a very productive player. Gasol averaged 17.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last season the Los Angeles Lakers
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One would figure Gasol would want to chase a chase championship at this stage of his career on the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs instead of going to a New York Knicks team that didn’t make the postseason last year; however, the allure of Phil Jackson likely intrigues him.
Jackson’s pitch for Gasol to come to New York includes the proximity to the United Nations, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
"“We’d like to be in the ballpark on where he’s getting contracts offered,’’ Jackson said. “I anticipate it’s going to be somewhere … $10 million [from the Lakers]. We don’t have that kind of money. We have what Pau needs — the United Nations.’’Jackson noted Gasol works for the UN, has been the UNICEF ambassador for Spain since 2003 and has worked with humanitarian causes such as helping children in Syria.“That’s the platform,’’ Jackson said. “Pretty soon he’ll be secretary of the United Nations and his career is headed that way and this is a great platform for you. I don’t know if that’s going to buy him into New York or not, but we’d like him to be here.’’"
We should find out if that’s tempting enough or not sooner than later based on Gasol’s tweet.