Even if he isn’t a Laker anymore, Pau Gasol still feels the pain of watching the Lakers struggle early on in the season.
Pau, on seeing the Lakers struggle. "It hurts me." AK
— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) November 17, 2014
Pau on Lakers "always going to be some level of attachment, what I experienced here...going to be meaningful forever to me"
— Beto Durán (@DuranSports) November 17, 2014
Gasol left the Lakers for the Chicago Bulls this summer, despite the Lakers offering him multiple contracts. Gasol wanted to move on to a contender and make one last chase at a ring before retiring.
This is all in spite of the attempted persuading of Gasol to stay by close teammate and friend Kobe Bryant.
Kobe told Pau to stay "not a type of person to jump ship when things get hard, but I was at a point emotionally I needed to move on"
— Beto Durán (@DuranSports) November 17, 2014
Pau on why chose to leave "needed to move on. Needed something different. Needed to be in a different position"
— Beto Durán (@DuranSports) November 17, 2014
For the Lakers, hanging onto Gasol would have likely been a case of clinging to the past instead of moving toward the future. If Gasol had returned, the Lakers may have been marginally better, but would have likely lost their draft pick this season. Fans may have enjoyed watching Gasol and Bryant ride off into the sunset together, but they would have seen the Lakers struggle to rebuild in the future.
Instead, Gasol left and the Lakers are clearly bottoming out and building for the future with the strong likelihood of keeping their draft pick. While not as enjoyable for fans, this is likely the right move for the future.
Do you think the Lakers should have tried harder to resign Gasol? Are you happy to see him gone? Let us know in the comments below!