Enjoying a peaceful retreat away from the parquet floors? Or start his life as a basketball player in the same universe? Visibly, Pau Gasolretired from the field for a few months, seems to be leaning towards the second option.
« Young people can benefit from your knowledge and experience. You can help them grow and progress. I enjoyed these different moments in my career, and I miss it in a way “, displays the 41-year-old Spaniard, asked about JJ Redick’s podcast.
The future Hall of Famer actually had time to play this role in the last years of his NBA career. At Spurs in particular where he played his last campaigns (2017-2019), before a brief stint at the Bucks, in Barcelona last season or with the Spanish selection at the Tokyo Olympics.
Now that he is no longer playing, the six-time All-Star plans to be able to more formally play this role of mentor within a franchise. And not just any. ” I’ve been pretty low-key with the Warriors, they kind of opened their doors to me so I could attend meetings, see some guys, and talk to some of them. It was nice. I may be led to do it more and more. »
However, it will still be necessary to wait a little before seeing him being recruited by the Warriors, to participate in the development of players for example. ” I don’t want to rush, I want to learn, observe and find something that makes sense to me but gradually “, he warns.
We recall that the latter especially crossed paths with the Warriors of the Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr era during the 2017 and 2018 playoffs, while the interior wore the Spurs jersey.
As early as 2016, he was already praising the Warriors superstar: “ I played against the best players in the world. He is out of category, a rare bird. I have never seen anything like it and it is a feeling shared by many people. It now evolves in the stratosphere and below, there is the rest of the planet. »
