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Yeah. I was with you there. Never saw it coming. Now there's more to the story, of course.
Truly shocked, as I said yesterday..apparently they didn't actually want him back, according to Leba ..
Yeah. I was with you there. Never saw it coming. Now there's more to the story, of course.
in for later
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/pau...a-free-agency/
Yesterday was my birthday, I’m now 36 years old.I woke up this morning doing a lot of reflecting. This week, like two other times in my career, I will leave an NBA team to join a new one. I am happy and proud to start a new stage of my career with the San Antonio Spurs. I am thrilled to join an unbelievable NBA franchise, with an amazing head coach and staff, and a roster full of talent, toughness and compe iveness. I will be a part of a team that has become a role model for its consistency, loyalty to its players, style of play, philosophy and overall excellence — a few of the reasons why the Spurs have been at the top of the league year after year the last 17 years since they won their first championship in 1999.
One thing is certain in life and basketball: There will always be change. Switching teams is always a hard choice to make — new city, new life, new teammates. Sometimes it feels like just at the moment you start getting a sense of your new community and fans, you have to uproot to a new place.
I am still as driven as ever. I still need challenges. At the age of 36, the furnace of my compe iveness is still burning as hot as it was when I was a rookie in Memphis.
But back as a rookie, my compe ive drive was mixed with frustration. Not a small amount of it, either.
I still think of one moment. It was after the third game of my NBA career. I was a rookie with the Grizzlies, coming off the bench. We were losing the game and I got subbed in during “garbage time.” I played terribly. I didn’t feel like myself, and it was embarrassing. I got pulled out of the game.
I was so frustrated. After the game I went straight through the tunnel to the weight room, where I knew no one would be. I didn’t want to go to the locker room. I just sat by myself with my head between my hands, taking it hard.
Then I felt a hand on my head. It was Lorenzen Wright, who was a veteran on the team.
I was still “the new guy from Spain” and I didn’t know my teammates very well yet, but Lorenzen had been nice to me in training camp.
“Don’t take it so hard,” he told me, “And don’t be afraid of mistakes. You’re going to make plenty more on the way to getting it right.”
I thanked him, and as he walked out he said something that meant so much to me.
“I’m here for you if you have any questions.”
It was a truly amazing moment in my NBA career. Now that I’m an older player in the league, it means all that much more. When a veteran guy actually takes time to look out for a rookie it goes a long way. It went a long way for me. As I reflect on that moment, there’s sadness too. In 2010, I remember hearing the news of Lorenzen’s death.
When I got to Chicago, Nikola Mirotić and I developed a friendship. It was his rookie year. The majority of the minutes for the power forward and center positions were shared amongst Jo, Taj and me — so Nikola didn’t play a lot at the beginning of his rookie season. Over the course of his first year, I noticed that he was getting frustrated. It was like watching myself as a young player. He only had about 10 minutes a game to make an impact. Time and time again, I saw him getting frustrated as he wasn’t playing at the level he knew he could.
After a game, I could see Niko really upset and at that moment the story about Lorenzen Wright came to my mind. I pulled him aside and told him about my rookie season and the frustrations I had. I reminded him to be patient and continue to work. Your time will come, I told him.
I’m not sure he believed me. Maybe he thought it was just another older player saying, “Be positive.” But I didn’t stop checking in on him — making sure he was balancing his frustration with a positive outlook. I was impressed with him. He kept working hard in practice even when he wasn’t getting minutes. The veterans on the team noticed. The coaches definitely noticed. Not too long after our conversation, we suffered a spate of injuries and Nikola got his chance. Suddenly he was playing 30 minutes a game, not 10. He even had some breakout games where he was our high scorer. His second year, he did more of the same. People started to say things like, “This guy Mirotić came out of nowhere!”
But he didn’t come out of nowhere. He was always there. Staying ready.
The NBA gives and it takes. With the Bulls these last two years, the league certainly took a lot from us. The injuries were really frustrating.
I know the Bulls organization and the fans had high expectations for our team. I came to Chicago to win and it stings that we weren’t able to live up to our potential.
I take so many positive things away from the entire experience in Chicago. I saw Jimmy Butler transform from a role player the season before I got to the team, into an All-Star in this league — and more importantly, into a leader. I hope to watch him continue to rise — and carry the team with him — for years to come.
I will be forever grateful to the Reinsdorf family, to the entire Bulls organization, to the players, and especially to the fans, for making me feel loved and at home, through good times and bad. You were there for me, and I will carry the memories we made together at the United Center and in the community for the rest of my life.
Throughout my career in the NBA, my desire has always been to be an instrumental part of a team with a chance of winning the championship. That’s really important for me. Winning on the court takes precedence over anything else, and obviously this continues to be the case with my decision to join the Spurs. I am incredibly grateful for this tremendous opportunity and I will do my very best to contribute my experience and work ethic to help this extraordinary franchise achieve its goal.
For the next several weeks, I will be preparing with the Spanish national team for yet another big goal: an Olympic gold medal.
But today, I want to take a break from it all and say: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Chicago.
San Antonio, I can’t wait to get started. See you very soon.
wow, just wow......
To the GS Warriors, and the rest of the NBA, i got four words for you:
PAU GASOL IS CLASS!
------------------------------------------------------------
but you know this already, and now Gasol is the starting center for the Spurs!
watch out NBA!
I've always liked Gasol and wished we were able to get him after he left for the Bulls. But even though he's 36, i'm still happy to have him on this team. Hopefully he has at least 2 good years left in him
Well, there goes his health...For the next several weeks, I will be preparing with the Spanish national team for yet another big goal: an Olympic gold medal.
Phil didn't want Melo either. All his comments calculated, but he stayed anyway.
On another note, LMA and Pau are gonna do some serious damage together.
Well... hope he takes care of our new noobs.
Don't we technically owe tspence an apology?
We should organize the 1st Annual Tspence Crowdfund For the Support of the Tspence Need Him Some Money Foundation.
Then he will know our true and sincere effort to help this stalwart of journalism and truthishness in today's world of... whatever, I lost interest in this post aleady.
tspence has to be the first sports journalist in history to accurately predict a player acquisition two years before it happened.
TSpenstrodamus
That was some Minority Report by TSpence
He's only three inches shorter than Cruise and although he's balding, the hair he has is luxurious...
I see it.
Yes, he probably knows the winning mega millions numbers, too.
He does, but he won't be able to tell which one, and it will be 2 years from his prediction. Maybe 7.
Spurs fans, get use to this.
It's like a women's Tennis match.Spurs fans, get use to this.
wonder if he can out-yell that screaming at home games
That Gasol piece was cool. The Spurs are going to have a good deal of rookies on the team. I hope the vets each take one to coach up.
Like Rafa Nadal tbh. Probably a Spanish thing.
Thanks for sharing!!!http://www.theplayerstribune.com/pau...a-free-agency/
Yesterday was my birthday, I’m now 36 years old.I woke up this morning doing a lot of reflecting. This week, like two other times in my career, I will leave an NBA team to join a new one. I am happy and proud to start a new stage of my career with the San Antonio Spurs. I am thrilled to join an unbelievable NBA franchise, with an amazing head coach and staff, and a roster full of talent, toughness and compe iveness. I will be a part of a team that has become a role model for its consistency, loyalty to its players, style of play, philosophy and overall excellence — a few of the reasons why the Spurs have been at the top of the league year after year the last 17 years since they won their first championship in 1999.
One thing is certain in life and basketball: There will always be change. Switching teams is always a hard choice to make — new city, new life, new teammates. Sometimes it feels like just at the moment you start getting a sense of your new community and fans, you have to uproot to a new place.
I am still as driven as ever. I still need challenges. At the age of 36, the furnace of my compe iveness is still burning as hot as it was when I was a rookie in Memphis.
But back as a rookie, my compe ive drive was mixed with frustration. Not a small amount of it, either.
I still think of one moment. It was after the third game of my NBA career. I was a rookie with the Grizzlies, coming off the bench. We were losing the game and I got subbed in during “garbage time.” I played terribly. I didn’t feel like myself, and it was embarrassing. I got pulled out of the game.
I was so frustrated. After the game I went straight through the tunnel to the weight room, where I knew no one would be. I didn’t want to go to the locker room. I just sat by myself with my head between my hands, taking it hard.
Then I felt a hand on my head. It was Lorenzen Wright, who was a veteran on the team.
I was still “the new guy from Spain” and I didn’t know my teammates very well yet, but Lorenzen had been nice to me in training camp.
“Don’t take it so hard,” he told me, “And don’t be afraid of mistakes. You’re going to make plenty more on the way to getting it right.”
I thanked him, and as he walked out he said something that meant so much to me.
“I’m here for you if you have any questions.”
It was a truly amazing moment in my NBA career. Now that I’m an older player in the league, it means all that much more. When a veteran guy actually takes time to look out for a rookie it goes a long way. It went a long way for me. As I reflect on that moment, there’s sadness too. In 2010, I remember hearing the news of Lorenzen’s death.
When I got to Chicago, Nikola Mirotić and I developed a friendship. It was his rookie year. The majority of the minutes for the power forward and center positions were shared amongst Jo, Taj and me — so Nikola didn’t play a lot at the beginning of his rookie season. Over the course of his first year, I noticed that he was getting frustrated. It was like watching myself as a young player. He only had about 10 minutes a game to make an impact. Time and time again, I saw him getting frustrated as he wasn’t playing at the level he knew he could.
After a game, I could see Niko really upset and at that moment the story about Lorenzen Wright came to my mind. I pulled him aside and told him about my rookie season and the frustrations I had. I reminded him to be patient and continue to work. Your time will come, I told him.
I’m not sure he believed me. Maybe he thought it was just another older player saying, “Be positive.” But I didn’t stop checking in on him — making sure he was balancing his frustration with a positive outlook. I was impressed with him. He kept working hard in practice even when he wasn’t getting minutes. The veterans on the team noticed. The coaches definitely noticed. Not too long after our conversation, we suffered a spate of injuries and Nikola got his chance. Suddenly he was playing 30 minutes a game, not 10. He even had some breakout games where he was our high scorer. His second year, he did more of the same. People started to say things like, “This guy Mirotić came out of nowhere!”
But he didn’t come out of nowhere. He was always there. Staying ready.
The NBA gives and it takes. With the Bulls these last two years, the league certainly took a lot from us. The injuries were really frustrating.
I know the Bulls organization and the fans had high expectations for our team. I came to Chicago to win and it stings that we weren’t able to live up to our potential.
I take so many positive things away from the entire experience in Chicago. I saw Jimmy Butler transform from a role player the season before I got to the team, into an All-Star in this league — and more importantly, into a leader. I hope to watch him continue to rise — and carry the team with him — for years to come.
I will be forever grateful to the Reinsdorf family, to the entire Bulls organization, to the players, and especially to the fans, for making me feel loved and at home, through good times and bad. You were there for me, and I will carry the memories we made together at the United Center and in the community for the rest of my life.
Throughout my career in the NBA, my desire has always been to be an instrumental part of a team with a chance of winning the championship. That’s really important for me. Winning on the court takes precedence over anything else, and obviously this continues to be the case with my decision to join the Spurs. I am incredibly grateful for this tremendous opportunity and I will do my very best to contribute my experience and work ethic to help this extraordinary franchise achieve its goal.
For the next several weeks, I will be preparing with the Spanish national team for yet another big goal: an Olympic gold medal.
But today, I want to take a break from it all and say: From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Chicago.
San Antonio, I can’t wait to get started. See you very soon.
Really inspiring, all of his reference to the importance of mentoring specially impressed me. I fully expect him and Manu to be the leaders bc it really takes a ppl person to care for others, specially youngsters who are just guaranteed to struggle. His mentioning this aspect relates specifically to Mirotic, but he's probably been made aware that while the Spurs seek to contend they intend to do it while at the same tIme developing and relying on some very young players, bc they have to.
They will need to be picked up, encouraged, taught, answer questions, etc. I don't think that comes naturally to Kawhi. It's good to know Pau shows that initiative.
Not yet anyway. But with some people, it'll come with age.Thanks for sharing!!!
Really inspiring, all of his reference to the importance of mentoring specially impressed me. I fully expect him and Manu to be the leaders bc it really takes a ppl person to care for others, specially youngsters who are just guaranteed to struggle. His mentioning this aspect relates specifically to Mirotic, but he's probably been made aware that while the Spurs seek to contend they intend to do it while at the same tIme developing and relying on some very young players, bc they have to.
They will need to be picked up, encouraged, taught, answer questions, etc. I don't think that comes naturally to Kawhi. It's good to know Pau shows that initiative.
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