Pau Gasol's rumored comeback with the Los Angeles Lakers will have to be put on hold for the meantime as he agreed to sign with his former team in FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. The Spanish big man was reportedly inked to a deal that will allow him to play with the squad for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, per Mundo Deportivo.
The 40-year-old is set to have a homecoming to the first professional club that he played with back in 1998. His first stint with FC Barcelona only lasted until 2001 before he made the jump to the NBA where he was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA Draft.
He had stints with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, and the Milwaukee Bucks. Gasol was also signed by the Portland Trail Blazers back in July of 2019. However, he didn't get to suit up for the team at all as he was eventually waived several months later.
Gasol's return to playing professional basketball in Europe will aid him as he plans to suit up for the Spain National Team in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics. Moreover, he is also set to reunite with his former head coach in Sarunas Jasikevicius who served as his mentor during his first stint with the team.
The veteran big man will also join forces with another familiar face in former teammate Nikola Mirotic. Prior to the signing, Jasikevicius along with the team's decision-makers wanted to acquire a center that will give them a solid presence in the paint. Luckily enough, the former Lakers big man was willing to return to Spain which led to the eventual reunion of both sides after two decades.
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