Spurs reach an agreement with Pau Gasol

The San Antonio Spurs added some frontcourt help in the form of veteran big man Pau Gasol, who agreed Monday to a two-year, $30 million deal.
The San Antonio Spurs have reached an agreement with center Pau Gasol for a two-year contract in the amount of $30 million.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported the agreement between Gasol and San Antonio.
The deal will have a player option in the second year that will allow Gasol to explore free agency or re-sign for a longer contract when the salary cap increases again for 2016-17.
Gasol was the obvious choice after the Spurs failed to convince high-profile free agent Kevin Durant to commit. Durant officially announced today that he will be signing with the Golden State Warriors.
Initially Gasol met with the Spurs brass to discuss a possible deal with nothing imminent, and agreed to allow the Spurs to continue their courtship of Durant before he made a decision.
The Spurs considered Durant a long shot and gave him a two hour presentation that they were very pleased with, but quickly moved on to Gasol before he decided to seriously mull his secondary options.
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The 35-year-old Gasol didn’t make a move until after the Durant decision, but cited the Spurs’ talent, relationships, and history of being a top notch organization won him over.
Gasol was courted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Toronto Raptors and the Portland Trail Blazers, who offered him a two-year, $40 million dollar deal to join their club.
Gasol’s resume includes being a two-time NBA champion, six-time All-Star and an Olympian.
He is one of the league’s best passing big men and skilled in the post, which will help the Spurs tremendously.
Last season Gasol averaged 16.5 points, and 11.0 rebounds for the Chicago Bulls, but had a challenging year with a new coach and missed the playoffs. His career numbers are slightly different at 18.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
To officially sign Gasol, the Spurs are currently looking to unload Boris Diaw’s contract without taking any salary back, in return to remain under the cap.