LOS ANGELES, Nov 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol said
Wednesday he’s been waived by the Portland Trail Blazers, who inked him to a
one-year contract before the season in hopes he would be able to return from
a left foot injury.
“As of today, I will no longer be a member of the @TrailBlazers player
roster, so I can focus all of my energy on my rehabilitation,” the 39-year-
old Spaniard said on Twitter.
ESPN reported that Gasol and the Trail Blazers were discussing details of a
coaching role for the future Hall of Famer, but in a video posted on Twitter
Gasol said such a job would be a stop gap, and his aim remained to regain his
fitness and resume his playing career.
“I have the same excitement and passion for the game of basketball that I
had when I first started playing,” Gasol said. “And I will work as hard as I
can on my recovery with a clear goal in mind: to get healthy in order to play
the game that I love.”
Gasol, the third overall selection in the 2001 draft, has played 18 seasons
in the NBA, winning titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and
earning six All-Star nods.
In 2018-19 he was limited to 30 games in a season split between the San
Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks. In May he had surgery to repair a stress
fracture in his left foot, and he signed with the Blazers as a free agent in
July.
Gasol noted in his video that the original timeline for his return ranged
from six to 12 months. He said a recent evaluation showed he still had a long
way to go in his rehabilitation and the decision to waive him would give the
Trail Blazers more roster flexibility.