Pau Gasol has narrowed down his next destination to either the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls after turning down a two-year $20 million deal from the Lakers.
Both teams would love to add Pau Gasol's passing and scoring ability to their team, but of the two teams the Spurs is the only one that can sign Gasol without issuing a sign and trade.
The Chicago Bulls are still waiting on Carmelo Anthony's decision but have considered doing a sign and trade for Carlos Boozer with the Lakers as plan B. However, the Lakers have recently said they aren't interested in taking back Boozer so it's looking more and more likely Gasol will head to San Antonio. The Bulls would need to clear cap space in order to offer the mid-level exception to Gasol and still be able to add role players.
San Antonio can offer the mid-level exception valued at $5.3 million without conducting a sign and trade. Gasol would be taking a major pay cut from last year's $19.3 million from last season, but may be willing to take such a deal to play for a championship contender.
Gasol would only add even more depth to a pretty stacked front line. Gasol can only make the Spurs richer at a bargain price. Not only that but adding Gasol allows Poppovich to limit Duncan's minutes even more so than last season and add security in case of any injury. Gasol will fit in beautifully on the Spurs roster, making the rich even richer.