Marc Gasol is a free agent this offseason. He was the solid starting center on a Toronto team that reached the second round of the playoffs and played with real grit.
He will have NBA options, but Gasol may consider a return to Spain to end his career, according to a rumor on Sportando.
Take every rumor this time of year with a grain of salt, but Gasol may want to go this route.
Center in the NBA has become a position where teams want to get players cheaply (except for the true elites at the position such as Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic). It’s seen as an easy position to fill, and Gasol, at age 35, likely would only see one or two-year offers at or not far above the minimum. It’s a steep drop from the $25.6 million he made this season.
Gasol grew up in Spain until age 16 when he and his parents moved to Memphis to be with Marc’s older brother Pau Gasol. After high school, Marc returned to Spain and played for three seasons with Barcelona before coming back to the United States to play for Memphis himself.
Pau Gasol has talked about possibly playing for Barcelona this season, but there seems to be nothing to that. He and his wife also just had a daughter here in the USA and may want to stay home.
There is no set schedule yet for the next NBA season. The 2020 NBA Draft is Nov. 18 but that is the only date locked in. The buzz is growing louder around the league about a February start for the next NBA season. That uncertainty, and Marc Gasol’s comfort level with how both NBA teams and our nation are handling the coronavirus, may play into his concerns.
Barcelona, and the other top teams in Europe, are already playing their schedule. Gasol also likely has his eyes on returning to the Spanish national team to play in the Tokyo Olympics next summer.
It’s all something to watch. Gasol — an NBA Champion, Defensive Player of the Year, and three-time All-Star — has options.