The San Antonio Spurs have reached a buyout with forward Pau Gasol. He is expected to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 38-year-old Barcelona, Spain native will be joining his fifth NBA franchise. This will be his second Eastern Conference team.
He previously played two seasons with the Chicago Bulls. He was a member of the Bulls from 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Basketball
He spent the last two-plus seasons with the Spurs. He had to be released by today in order to be playoff eligible with his new team.
This season, he has made 27 appearances with six starts. He is averaging 4.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 12.2 minutes per game.
He missed the last four games with the Spurs. He last played for the team on Feb. 9 against the Utah Jazz when he had five points in seven minutes and nine seconds on the court.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: July 17th, 2014 at 5:29 pm EST
The Los Angeles Lakers are still without a head coach. In addition, that has hurt them in their pursuit of free agents.
They couldn’t get Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James to head to Los Angeles. Yet, they were able to get Carlos Boozer to sign with the team.
Carlos Boozer (Getty Images)
Boozer said he wanted to play with the Miami Heat. That was until the Lakers won the amnesty auction for the power forward.
He was amnestied by the Bulls on Tuesday, and two days later, he has a new team. The Lakers will now be responsible for the remaining $16.8 million in his contract.
Boozer is expected to start at power forward for the Lakers. A few days ago, former Lakers power forward Pau Gasol signed with the Bulls, forcing the team to rid themselves of Boozer.
He joins a crowded frontcourt for a rebuilding Lakers team. Also in the frontcourt are Ed Davis, Jordan Hill, and rookie Julius Randle.
The 32-year-old averaged 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in 76 games last season. He spent four years with the Bulls of a five-year deal.
Boozer returns to the Western Conference where he played 6-years. In 2007, he averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game in 81 games.
In 2006, he averaged 20.9 points per game, the second-highest of his career. These were the only two seasons that he averaged more than 20 points per game.
The former Duke Blue Devil began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played the first two years.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: July 14th, 2014 at 12:11 am EST
Pau Gasol signed with the Chicago Bulls yesterday. However, there was no contract details when he announced that he signed with the Bulls.
Gasol, who was also considering signing with the San Antonio Spurs, before settling on the Bulls deal, will be paid approximately $22 million over the next three years. There’s no word on whether the 34-year-old’s deal includes any team or player options.
Pau Gasol (Getty Images)
Gasol is expected to be the Bulls starting power forward with Joakim Noah as the center. Taj Gibson will move to his normal sixth-man role.
With Gasol now in the mix, will coach Tom Thibodeau stay with Gasol in close games? Last season, he went with Gibson and Noah to end games in the frontcourt.
The Bulls used much of their cap space with this addition. The 7-footer is forming the Bulls Big 3 with Noah and the often-injured Derrick Rose, as long as he can stay healthy.
He will be entering his 14th season this upcoming year. He began his first 6 1/2 years with the Memphis Grizzlies, before a mid-season trade in 2007 to send him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
He spent the past 6 1/2 years with the Lakers. He has averaged double-figures in points throughout his career. He also won two NBA Champions with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
The Bulls are hoping that Gasol could him the franchise win their first NBA Championship since the 1997-98 season, Michael Jordan’s final Championship.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 8:35 pm EST
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Julius Randle with the 7th overall draft pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Randle is the highest selection in Lakers history since James Worthy was drafted with the first overall selection in the 1982 draft. In 1994 and 2005, the Lakers had the 10th overall pick, where they drafted Eddie Jones in 1994, then Andrew Bynum in 2005.
Julius Randle (Getty Images)
Randle came out for the NBA Draft after just one season with the Kentucky Wildcats. The 19-year-old Randle is rated as a power forward in the NBA.
Randle averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds in 40 games during the 2013-14 season.
With the Lakers rebuilding, they now have a nice piece to build around. The Lakers missed the playoffs this past season.
They are also without a head coach, as Kobe Bryant aims to return from a torn Achilles. Randle could move into the starting power forward role that Pau Gasol played for the past several years.
The Boston Celtics were reportedly torn between drafting Randle and point guard Marcus Smart. The C’s eventually went with the point guard, leaving Randle to go to the Lakers.
Randle is already being considered a dark house for the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year. He will have the opportunity to be productive right away.
He also said that he wanted to go to the Lakers all along, so it’s a perfect match.
“It’s the organization that I wanted to go to,” Randle said while on a conference call from New York with reporters covering the draft at the Lakers’ practice facility. “I couldn’t be a in a better situation for me and I’m just really excited to get things started there.”
Leading up to the draft, there was talk that Randle may have to have surgery on his right foot to correct a pin that was previously placed incorrectly when he broke it in high school. When he was working out in the pre-draft workouts with the Lakers, he saw a specialist in Los Angeles, who cleared him to play.
It is likely that this saga with his foot cost Randle several slots. According to the Lakers, he was their 4th-best player on their draft board.
“I think I should’ve went higher for sure, but you know, the teams that passed on me will regret it,” Randle told ESPN’s Jay Williams. “I’m healthy, I have no problem with my foot. Whether (the Lakers) want to do something (to correct his foot) or not, we’ll see. But I’ll have that conversation with them when I get there.”
The Capital Sports Report 