Six-Time All-Star Pau Gasol Working Toward NBA Comeback

Gasol has not played in an NBA game since March 2019.

Six-time All-Star Pau Gasol is working towards an NBA comeback and sees the Lakers as a possible dream destination, he told ESPN's Zach Lowe on Wednesday. 

Gasol has not played since March 2019, when he appeared in 30 combined games with the Spurs and Bucks. In those two years, he has undergone two surgeries in years to repair stress fractures in his left foot.

"There is meaning and history there," Gasol said of the Lakers. "I'm not going to lie. It would be very special, and now that my brother [Marc] is there, even more special. But I'm not in a position now to be very demanding. I don't have 10 offers on the table."

Pau's younger brother, Marc Gasol, signed a two-year deal with Los Angeles this offseason.

Gasol told ESPN that he and his agent recently discussed training camp deals with some teams, but the two-time NBA champion is instead doing more individual conditioning before seriously engaging in contract talks.

"I want the opportunity to contribute—to feel needed," Gasol said. "Not just to be there. That's not who I am. I want to enjoy it, and players usually enjoy playing."

Gasol spent the first six and a half seasons of his NBA career with the Grizzlies before he was traded to the Lakers. That same deal sent Marc to Memphis. Pau went on to make three All-Star appearances with Los Angeles and starred alongside Kobe Bryant. He later joined the Bulls before his final stints with the Spurs and Bucks. 

He signed as a free-agent with the Blazers before the 2019–20 NBA season but was waived last November after not playing a game. 

Gasol is among just four players in NBA history with more than 20,000 points, 11,000 rebounds, 3,500 assists and 1,500 blocks in his career. The only other players to accomplish the feat are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.