MCT/Chicago
There’s a reason Pau Gasol hasn’t talked much about the player option he owns for the final season of the three-year, $22.3 million deal he signed in the summer of 2014.
“I don’t think about that,” Gasol said in a recent interview. “I’ll wait to make that decision. All I’m focused on now is trying to play the best I can so that if I do opt out and explore, I have options. If I have the best season possible and work on my body and stay healthy and help this team accomplish its goals, I’ll go from there.”
Given that Gasol is due just $7.77 million for a 2016-17 season in which free-agent salaries should spike considerably with the first influx of new TV money, there’s plenty of speculation leaguewide that Gasol will opt out. Even though Gasol will turn 36 next July, two executives from other teams opined the five-time All-Star would command at least two years of guaranteed money as an unrestricted free agent.
Thus, even if Gasol signed for a lower annual salary - and even that would be unlikely with the expected boom in free agency - he would be leaving money on the table if he didn’t opt out.
Gasol proved when he signed with the Bulls that money didn’t rule his decision-making process. He turned down more money from the Lakers, with whom he won two championships but endured a difficult time in his final seasons there under coach Mike D’Antoni.
That situation could prove instructional for Gasol’s free-agency decision. During the Bulls’ recruitment process, Gasol had pointed questions about Tom Thibodeau’s reputation for overworking players. But he ended up thriving under Thibodeau, who featured Gasol’s post skills early and often and called multiple isolation plays for him.
It’s early, but that has happened with less frequency thus far under Fred Hoiberg, although Gasol has consistently praised the first-year coach. Gasol is averaging 14.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in 30 minutes. That’s 4.4 minutes fewer than he averaged last season, all part of Hoiberg’s plan to distribute playing time more evenly and use a 10-man rotation with an eye toward fresher legs for the postseason.
“Every player would like to play more and have better numbers, but it’s what helps the team,” Gasol said. “And that’s the coach’s decision. He makes those calls and takes that responsibility for the good and bad. As players, you have to accept that and be mature enough to work with it and make the best out of it.
“As long as we win, things will be fine. That’s kind of the bottom line. In a team sport, you have to put the team before your interests and desires. So far I think we’ve done a good job. It’s a long season. Things happen and you have to adjust as you go.”
Indeed, Hoiberg is strongly considering starting Joakim Noah alongside Gasol for the first time on Monday against the Pacers. It’s a pairing that struggled at times last season, in particular Noah, who often matched up against stretch-four power forwards on the perimeter.
Gasol said it was made clear to him over the offseason that he would be the starting center this season.
“Distribution of minutes, I don’t know if that’s going to be consistent or not or whether it’s going to be 20, 25, 30 (or) 35,” he said. “And I don’t know if it can be clear. It could be a game-to-game type thing. You have to be ready whenever you’re called.”
Gasol joked he planned to play “five or 10 more years” when asked, at the outset of this 15th season, how much more he had in store. Then the regal big man turned serious.
“I don’t make those type of guesses,” Gasol said. “Those predictions are useless in the present time. I’ve played a lot of years. I’ve played a lot of basketball in the summers. At some point, it’s going to take a toll. I’m doing my very best to stay fresh and keep myself in great shape to compete at this level.
“I think I’ve had a tremendous career, but how many (more) years? That will depend on my body, my mind and my motivation. We will see.”
We will see indeed.
Chicago Bulls’ Pau Gasol.
