Five potential destinations for Pau Gasol
When a player opts out of a contract, it doesn’t always necessarily mean that they are going to leave. There’s no reason to believe that if Pau Gasol opts out of his contract with the Chicago Bulls, that he won’t leave the team to go play somewhere else.
In fact, this could just simply be Gasol’s way of getting a better deal from a team that he has provided a lot for in his two years in Chicago. Currently, the Chicago Bulls are on the hook for a little over $73 million next year. That means at that amount, the would have a little under $16 million to give Gasol.
With a few easy moves, the Bulls could probably shed even more cash if they really desired to. They’re also going to have to pay Nikola Mirotic soon, and then Derrick Rose’s contract will be quite the discussion point as well in a couple years.
With that said, the Bulls should have the money to make Gasol a happy man if they want to, seeing as they can go over the cap to re-sign their own player. Gasol is currently making just a tick below $7.5 million this season. With the massive increase in the cap, the Bulls could offer him a more than generous offer.
However if a team that loses out on free agency makes Gasol a desperate offer, then the Bulls will have to consider just how much they want to invest in the 36-year-old.
Since the Bulls are chasing after a title, it’s probably in their best interest to do what it takes to keep Gasol around.