Gasol & His Teammates Give Spain a Men’s Basketball Bronze at the 2016 Rio Games

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

They may not be this year’s Golden boys, but Pau Gasol and his Spanish teammates still have reason to celebrate.

The 36-year-old professional basketball player, who will be heading to the San Antonio Spurs this upcoming NBA season, scored 31 points in what could be his Olympic farewell, as Spain collected the bronze medal in Men’s Basketball at the 2016 Rio Games on Sunday with an 89-88 win over Australia.

Sergio Rodriguez made two free throws with 5.4 seconds left and the Spaniards, who captured silver at the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2012 London Games, got the defensive stop they needed as Australia fumbled the ball away on its last possession.

Gasol, who hasn’t committed to playing at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and his teammates celebrated by piling on top of each other near center court.

It wasn’t the medal they wanted, but after losing their first two games in Brazil, it beats nothing.

“Unbelievable,” forward Rudy Fernandez said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

It’s a feeling Gasol wishes could last. He isn’t ready to shed his España jersey.

“I’m getting older and at some point I’m not going to be able to play,” said Gasol. “So when that day comes, I’ll accept it. It’ll be hard, but I had an incredible run. I can’t ask for anything else. Everything I gave, everything I lived as a basketball player, it’s a plus. It’s a gift.

“I’m just enjoying the ride.”

Gasol Finalizing Two-Year Deal with San Antonio Spurs

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Pau Gasol is heading to the Lone Star State…

The 35-year-old Spanish basketball star has confirmed reports that he is finalizing a two-year deal ‎with the San Antonio Spurs worth in excess of $30 million, according to ESPN.

The deal will feature a player option in the second year, according to ESPN’s sources.

Gasol had emerged as the target of a lucrative free-agency bidding war that had also involved the Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors, sources said.

Gasol, who will turn 36 on Wednesday, spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bulls and gave the team a solid offensive punch down on the blocks and provided a professional presence in the locker room.

Last year he averaged 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds for a Bulls team that missed out on the playoffs.

Gasol Named EuroBasket MVP After Leading Spain to the Gold

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Pau Gasol has propelled Spain into the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro…

The 35-year-old Spanish basketball star had a double-double as Spain cruised past Lithuania 80-63 on Sunday to take the EuroBasket title.

Gasol, the European Basketball Championship MVP, helped Spain earn its third title in the last four tournaments after having to settle for bronze two years ago.

“It was an incredible championship,” Gasol said. “We went through struggles early on but the team responded well, and with our backs to the wall, we understood that we had to play better defense.”

With Spain’s King Felipe VI and tennis star Rafael Nadal in the stands, the final was a one-sided affair as the Spaniards opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter and were never really threatened.

Gasol finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, one steal and no turnovers to earn the tournament’s MVP award.

“It’s of special significance to play this well at this stage of my career after all I’ve accomplished,” said Gasol, the Chicago Bulls center who has two NBA championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. “It is something I will remember until the end of my life.

The victory completed a turnaround for Spain, which came to the tournament without Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio and lost two of its first three games.

But with Gasol dominating, Spain raised its game when it mattered and looked impressive throughout the knockout stage. Gasol put his stamp on the final early, scoring eight straight points for Spain to lead 19-6.

That helped the team overcome the loss of influential guard Rudy Fernandez halfway into the third quarter when he was fouled by Robertas Javtokas. Fernandez fell to the ground, was helped off the floor while holding his left hip and did not return.

Spain and Lithuania booked direct slots to next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Spain won the silver medal in the past two Olympics, and Gasol said he would be around once again if his body holds up.

Spain guard Sergio Rodriguez joined Gasol in the tournament’s all-star team.

Gasol & the Memphis Grizzlies Agree to Five-Year Max Deal Worth $110 million

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Marc Gasol will keep walking (and dribbling) in Memphis…

The 30-year-old Spanish professional basketball player and the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to a five-year max contract worth an estimated $110 million, according to ESPN sources.

The deal includes a player option that would allow Gasol to opt out and become a free agent after the fourth year of the contract, according to sources.

The exact monetary value of the deal, which was agreed to Monday, will be determined by the league’s salary cap.

Gasol, as previously reported by ESPN, shunned the opportunity to let interested teams court him in free agency, signaling to the rest of the league ‎that he essentially was unavailable to everyone except Memphis.

‎Teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers‎, New York Knicks ‎and Milwaukee Bucks‎ — all of whom had designs on making a run at the Spaniard in free agency — abandoned all plans to pitch Gasol before free agency began.

Players and teams can come to verbal agreements on deals, but no contracts can be formally signed until Thursday, when a leaguewide moratorium on roster business is lifted.

Gasol was selected with the 48th overall pick by the Lakers in the 2007 draft. In the 2008 deal that brought his brother Pau Gasol to the Lakers, Marc Gasol’s rights were sent to the Grizzlies.

In seven seasons with Memphis, Gasol has developed into one of the league’s premier big men, winning NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. He was selected as first-team All-NBA last season, second-team All-NBA in 2014, and he has twice been named an All-Star (2012, ’15).

Gasol has averaged double-figure scoring in all seven of his NBA seasons, with a career-high 17.6 points per game last season in 81 games, all starts. He was regarded as the anchor of one of the league’s best defensive teams despite not being an elite rim protector (1.6 blocks per game last season).

Gasol was an integral piece to the Grizzlies’ rise, leading them to 55 wins last season and a first-round playoff victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies have appeared in five consecutive postseasons and made it to the Western Conference finals in 2013 before bowing out in four games to the San Antonio Spurs.

In 2011, Gasol signed a four-year, $58 million deal with the Grizzlies.

Gasol Reportedly Inching Closer to Deal with the Chicago Bulls

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Pau Gasol may be dealing with plenty of bull in the near future…

The 34-year-old Spanish professional basketball player is reportedly thisclose to joining the Chicago Bulls, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca and other media reports.

The paper first reported late Friday that the Bulls are closing in on a deal with Gasol despite the absence of a sign-and-trade agreement with his most recent team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com late Friday that a sign-and-trade arrangement had not been struck, with the Lakers still looking for draft compensation — as they received in Friday’s earlier trade with the Houston Rockets to take back the contract of Jeremy Lin — as the primary return for Gasol.

ESPN.com reported earlier Friday that the Bulls and San Antonio Spurs had emerged as the two leading candidates to land Gasol, with San Antonio poised to land the Spaniard if the Bulls and Lakers could not finalize a sign-and-trade deal.

Sources told ESPN.com late Friday that the Bulls were prioritizing their pursuit of Gasol even ahead of their long-running efforts to sign Carmelo Anthony, fearing that Anthony remains likely to stay with the New York Knicks.

The Lakers appear resigned to seeing Gasol exit after a successful six seasons together. Prior to Friday, the Lakers offered Gasol two deals: two years worth $23 million, and three years worth $29 million, a National Basketball League source told ESPNLosAngeles.com. Gasol turned down both offers, according to the source.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been pursuing Gasol as hard as anyone, but sources indicated Friday that the Spurs have joined the Bulls ahead of the Thunder in Gasol’s pecking order.

The Thunder had a $6.5 million trade exception that expired Friday night at 11:59 p.m. ET that they had hoped to use in their own sign-and-trade with L.A.

Making hard runs at free agents is not something seen often from the Thunder, but Gasol had been lobbied face to face by OKC stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook as well as coach Scott Brooks and general manager Sam Presti since free agency began.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had been trying to trade Amar’e Stoudemire or Andrea Bargnani in hopes of clearing sufficient salary-cap space to convince Gasol to come to New York to play alongside a re-signed Anthony. But sources said Friday night that the Knicks, like the Lakers and Thunder, appeared to be out of contention.

Alonso Named Honorary Ambassador for “Brand Spain”

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Fernando Alonso is representing his native land in a big way…

The 31-year-old Spanish Formula One race car driver and a two-time World Champion has been named an honorary ambassador for “Brand Spain” by the Leading Brands of Spain Forum.

The award is aimed at publicly recognizing people, businesses and institutions that have contributed greatly during their professional careers to strengthening the international image of the Iberian nation.

Alonso was selected in the Sports category for being one of the Spanish athletes enjoying “great success and international projection, admired and respected throughout the world.”

But Alonso isn’t the only Spanish luminary named an honorary ambassador…

Antonio Banderas was honored in the Culture and Communication category for being one of the country’s “best-known and admired” artists internationally, having built up an impressive resume of film projects in Hollywood.

Also selected for their work in strengthening Spain’s image abroad were businessman Isak Andic, the founder and main stockholder of the Mango fashion retailer group, economist Pedro Nueno, chef Jose Andres, cancer researcher Dr. Maria Blasco and the National Transplant Organization.

The judging panel headed by Antonio Abril, the general secretary of the Inditex textile group, included Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, the Government High Commissioner for Brand Spain.

This is the first time that this recognition has been bestowed since the creation of the post of high commissioner. The high commissioner backed the initiative to develop the Leading Brands of Spain Forum, which includes more than 100 companies and several government ministers.

Other personalities who have been selected in the past to be honorary ambassadors include Rafael Nadal, Placido Domingo, Javier Solana and Pau Gasol.

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