Pau Gasol Admits That It Was A ‘Difficult Decision’ Choosing The Chicago Bulls Over The San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder

The Chicago Bulls acquired veteran big man Pau Gasol in the 2014 offseason in what was considered by basketball pundits as one of the best free agent signings during the last summer. The Spanish big man admitted that it was a “difficult decision” as he also considered other suitors like the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gasol described the situation over as “probably the most difficult decision that I made in my career and in my life” as per Bleacher Report.

In the same interview, Gasol was also asked if he considered signing lesser teams— the non-contenders like the New York Knicks, who had former teammate Derek Fisher as head coach and former mentor Phil Jackson as team president.

"I considered it. But I thought the team was not at the level of others, other contenders and options that I had. I'm coming down to my last few years of my career, and I want to maximize them,” Gasol said. “And it was difficult to leave L.A. in the first place. But now I feel like I'm in a great position, and we have a great opportunity, and now let's see if we're lucky and we deserve to do something special.”

It’s too early to tell if Gasol made the correct decision in signing in Chicago over the defending champions San Antonio and top West contender Oklahoma City but in Game 1 of the 82-game grind in the regular season, the Spaniard proved to be a great fit with the Eastern Conference squad pegged as the main threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers featuring LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

Gasol’s new team, the Bulls beat the Knicks via a 104-80 blowout on Wednesday with the Spaniard coming out as the team’s best player with 21 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting, 7-of-8 free throws and 11 rebounds. Provided it was against the lowly and still disorganised New York squad, Gasol’s performance is a sign that he can co-exist with the likes of Joakim Noah (3 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots) and Taj Gibson (22 points and 8 rebounds off the bench) plus Bulls superstar Derrick Rose (13 points and 5 assists in 21 minutes).

It’s intriguing to say the least to think how Gasol would have fared with the Spurs with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker; and with the Thunder alongside Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Spanish basketball national team team-mate Serge Ibaka.

Did Gasol make the right decision in picking the Bulls over the Spurs and Thunder? There are 81 games left for the Bulls in the regular season and more when Chicago makes the postseason. Only then will the question be answered.

Gasol and the Bulls face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday for an early marquee match-up between East favourites before taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.