Everyone was awaiting Kevin Durant's big free agency decision, and that included forward Pau Gasol. Gasol had opted out of the third year of his deal with the Bulls and was expected to decide between the Spurs and Raptors if Durant elected to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for another team.
In surprising fashion, Durant chose the easy way with the Golden State Warriors, and Gasol then decided his best destination was the San Antonio Spurs. Per Adrian Wojnarowski, Gasol and San Antonio agreed to a two-year, $30 million deal with a player option for the second year.
Sources on @TheVertical: Spurs, Pau Gasol finalizing a two-year, $30M-plus deal. Player option after first season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 4, 2016
In his two years with the Bulls, Pau Gasol averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.0 blocks per game. Chicago seemed like a great fit at the time, especially with Tom Thibodeau around, but the hiring of Fred Hoiberg as well as the lack of winning in the Windy City made it easy for Gasol to opt out of his third year and leave the Bulls for a contender.
This doesn't automatically make the Spurs a contender, however, as one of their biggest issues last season was running with the younger and faster teams like the Thunder and Warriors. Of course, OKC won't be as big of a problem this year without Durant, but the Warriors will be very hard to stop.
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