Bulls big man Pau Gasol, who possesses a player option worth $7,769,520 for 2016/17, has said that he’s leaning toward opting out, but he did note that he would like to remain in Chicago beyond this season, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com relays. Responding to whether or not he’d like to stay with the Bulls, Gasol said, “Yes, of course. But when the time comes we’ll evaluate it. I’ll see how the season went. Where are the team’s interests, where are my interests, what options do I have? But most important is for me and the team to focus on what we have this season to make the best out of it and give ourselves a chance to win the title.”
Gasol was also asked if he missed anything about former head coach Tom Thibodeau and told Friedell, “I appreciated a lot of things that Thibs brought to the table. I think his intensity. Sometimes it could be a little bit overwhelming. I think [I miss most] his intensity and his passion and dedication for the game.” The veteran also noted that he appreciates the freedom and versatility of coach Fred Hoiberg‘s system, the ESPN scribe adds.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Jason Terry, who re-signed with the Rockets this past offseason, said he planned to join the Mavericks along with DeAndre Jordan, but Terry’s plans changed when Jordan decided to return to the Clippers, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News relays. “For me it was like a package deal,” Terry said. “If he [Jordan] came, I definitely was coming. Because that automatically made us a contender.” Terry also noted that he was shocked when Jordan reversed course and backed out of his verbal agreement with Dallas, Townsend adds. “When that happened, I kind of pushed the reset button,” Terry said. “Because I didn’t want to start over. I don’t want to be in a rebuilding phase. I don’t know if Dallas, at the time, knew if they were rebuilding or were they retooling. They were trying to see what was out there.“
- The Spurs have sent Boban Marjanovic and Ray McCallum to their D-League Affiliate in Austin, the team announced. This is the first D-League assignment of the season for both players.
- The Rockets have assigned swingman K.J. McDaniels to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This is the second D-League trip of the season for McDaniels, as our assignments and recalls tracker illustrates.
- Kings coach George Karl believes that despite the rumored difficulties between he and center DeMarcus Cousins, the big man wants to remain in Sacramento, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
- James Ennis has been assigned by the Grizzlies to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced.
- The Clippers have assigned Branden Dawson to the D-League, and since the team does not have its own affiliate, Dawson will report to the Pistons’ squad in Grand Rapids, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.