The Portland Trail Blazers will sign six-time All-Star free agent Pau Gasol, the Spanish big man announced on Twitter yesterday.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Gasol’s deal will be for one year and $2.6 million, as he joins a Blazers team coming off a run to the Western Conference Finals.
“Ready and happy to join one of the best teams in the league!” Gasol tweeted.
Gasol, who turned 39 earlier this month, is coming off the worst season of his 18-year NBA career. In failing to average double digits in scoring for the first time of his career, he recorded just 3.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 30 contests (six starts) with San Antonio and Milwaukee.
After being bought out by the Spurs on March 1, Gasol joined the East-leading Bucks two days later. But he only appeared in three games before a stress fracture in his left foot ended his season.
Until last season, Gasol was one of the league’s steadiest players since entering the NBA in 2001 as the third overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks, who then shipped him to the then-Vancouver Grizzlies in a draft-night swap.
Gasol made an instant impact with the Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis before his rookie season, as he averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 2001-02. The 7-footer would surpass that scoring average in each of his next nine seasons, a span that included him pairing with Kobe Bryant for a couple NBA championships after being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2008.
Gasol played with the Lakers through the 2013-14 season before a pair of All-Star seasons with the Chicago Bulls the following two campaigns. The veteran signed with the Spurs before the 2016-17 season.
The Blazers have accumulated several center options to hold the fort until injured Jusuf Nurkic returns from a vicious leg injury suffered in March. Gasol joins Zach Collins and former Miami Heat star Hassan Whiteside in the middle for Portland.
—Field Level Media
