The Los Angeles Lakers offered Pau Gasol a chance to be treated like one of the premier players in the NBA, and he still turned them down.
According to Beto Duran of ESPN Radio in LA, the Lakers gave Gasol the option of having a no-trade clause built into his new contract if he chose to remain with the team. Only six players in the NBA have a no-trade clause in their contract — Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade.
That’s some pretty good company, right? It didn’t matter to Gasol, who clearly wanted out of LA. He chose to sign with the Chicago Bulls and is averaging 18.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game this year after struggling with the Lakers the past two seasons.
Despite his close friendship with Kobe Bryant, Gasol felt that the Bulls give him a better chance to win at this point in his career. While it’s too early to say if Chicago is a championship contender, it’s not too early to say the Lakers are not. Pau made the right choice.
