Pau Gasol Is Apparently Planning On Leaving The NBA To Play A Year In Spain And Then Retire After Next Year's Olympics

Whoa, some major news here. I know that Pau hasn't really played this year after being waived by the Blazers back in November, but you're talking about a Hall of Famer here. Yes, Pau is a Hall of Famer and I don't really think it's that much of a debate. When you realize what he's done for Spain basketball (remember it's the Basketball Hall of Fame, not just the NBA) combined with his time with the Lakers it's gonna happen. 

It's always weird when a guy like Gasol knows it's time to leave the NBA. In a way it's cool to see him go back to Barcelona, where he started his basketball life. He wants one more run to try and beat Team USA - he won't as long as we don't send that Team Shamrock bullshit like the FIBA World Cup. But really it got me thinking about how AWESOME those 2008 and 2012 games vs Spain were. Especially that 2008 game, it was one of the best basketball games just in general. 

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In a weird way, since we didn't see Pau on Portland really this year, it's sort of nice to see a guy that was as skilled as him finish his career overseas. It's always kind of weird in a way seeing a guy who just is a shell of his former self struggle to play 5 minutes a game. Maybe it's just me, but I like to save the 'retirement tour' seasons for the absolute legend of legends while other Hall of Famers just retire. And who knows, maybe he has a good year with Barcelona and ends his basketball career on a positive note.