Account
Pau Gasol Says Returning to Lakers to Finish NBA Career 'Would Be Great'
May 9, 2020
Even though he hasn't appeared in an NBA game since March 10, 2019, Pau Gasol has entertained the idea of finishing his career as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaking to Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints, Gasol addressed the topic of returning to the Lakers without sounding optimistic about it coming to fruition:
"Seriously considered? It's not that I've had many opportunities. It's something that has been on my mind. Kind of like the potential of maybe finishing or playing my last year with the Lakers would be great. It's appealing if you will, but the opportunity never really kind of presented itself in a serious official manner.
"I have a great relationship and love for Jeanie and the Lakers organization and the city of Los Angeles, which is always going to remain extremely meaningful to me no matter what, but we'll see. But not really."
Gasol did sign a one-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in the offseason, but the team waived him in November.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Gasol was "unable to successfully rehab" his left foot after he had surgery last May.
In a March interview with Madrid newspaper El Pais (h/t NBC Sports' Keith Smith), Gasol said he'd "definitely" considered retirement.
"With this recovery process and the injury that I have been dealing with for more than a year, it's undoubtedly inevitable to think about retirement," he said. "Also, taking into account that I will be 40 years old in a few months. So, it's definitely on my mind."
Gasol averaged 3.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 30 games last season with the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks.
Los Angeles was Gasol's NBA home for seven seasons from 2007-08 to 2013-14. The Spanish star won two NBA titles with the team in 2008-09 and 2009-10. He averaged 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds in 429 games with the team.
The Lakers owned the best record in the Western Conference (49-14) when the NBA regular season was suspended March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic.