Portland Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey revealed on Tuesday that the franchise nearly signed two-time NBA champion and future Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol in free agency in 2016.
The 39-year-old Gasol signed with the Blazers this offseason after spending his 2018-19 season — his 18th year in the league — with the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks.
“Three years ago we pursued Pau [Gasol] very aggressively. He made a decision to go elsewhere; we respected it, but at least we were on his radar,” Olshey told NBC Sports Northwest.
“What it really came down to for Pau was it is basketball, it's only basketball. He wants that to be good, he wants to win, he wants to be successful in his waning years. Everything that we had said about how we do things here—the role, the way we use our big guys, our style of play, the consistency from ownership to front office to coaching staff, to leadership of franchise players—we've delivered on. The nice thing to know is it hasn't gone unnoticed.”
The last time the Spaniard was a free agent, in 2016, he signed a multi-year deal with the Spurs to play under head coach Gregg Popovich. Pop is a renowned NBA coach who has won five titles with the silver and black franchise and is currently coaching the USA men's basketball team.
Olshey, who's been with the organization for a decade, went on to say Gasol's near-decision and eventual free agent signing in 2019 with the Blazers “validates” the direction of the team.
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