Although the dominoes in NBA free agency won’t really begin to fall until Miami Heat forward LeBron James and New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony make their free agency decisions, plenty of other free agents are getting lots of attention.
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One of those players is Los Angeles Lakers’ big man Pau Gasol. Gasol wants to play for a contender and just about every contender would love to have him. The Chicago Bulls could pursue Gasol if they can’t convince Anthony to sign with them. The Miami Heat want to add Gasol to their big three and the Phoenix Suns have coveted Gasol for some time.
However, it now seems like the Oklahoma City Thunder may be the front runner to land Gasol.
According to Marc Gasol, it isn’t just the Thunder that Gasol is interested in, but he is also legitimately considering the San Antonio Spurs, the team that eliminated the Thunder from the postseason with a six-game series victory in the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN Los Angeles’ Ramona Shelburne believes the way Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich uses his veterans during the season and the Spurs’ international roster are very appealing to Gasol.
Gasol averaged 17.4 points, 9.7 rebounds 3.4 assists and 1.5 blocks per game last season. He shot 48.0% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc and 73.6% from the free throw line.