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Nurse explains the reason for Marc Gasol’s downturn in the ‘NBA bubble’

The role of the still reigning NBA champion, Toronto RaptorsIn the bubble, he has not been as protagonist as he was in the 2019 Playoffs, when at the end of them he won the first championship in his history. In this 2020 they were eliminated by some Celtics that, although they did not reach the Finals to battle with the Lakers, they left a good taste in their mouths. Seven games against Boston and an elimination that opened doubts and unknowns. One of the important ones, especially in what refers to the Spanish market, is that of Marc Gasol.

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The Barcelona pivot reached the bubble after a confinement in which he was very fit, probably in the best physical shape of his career, but without being able to materialize that good point on the ESPN World Wide Of Sports Complex courts. The worst numbers in its history in the NBA have led to raise Her future as more than a mere passage through the market as a free agent. He is 35 years old, he missed a good opportunity to sign a lucrative contract last year, his cache has dropped considerably with these last games and the offers will be down due to the economic difficulties faced by the North American league after the stoppage due to the coronavirus. And, as icing on the cake, rumors about a possible return to Spain that his brother Pau has denied but that now sound louder.

In an interview with Jackie MacMullan for ESPN the Raptors coach, Nick Nurse, has reviewed his team’s options and how he sees the future both in the League and in Toronto. And Marc is the subject of discussion. After the expansion of Lowry, which at first also ended a contract this 2020, Ibaka, Gasol and VanVleet are the names to consider for Masai Ujiri (president of operations), Bobby Webster (general manager) and the rest of the management sporty. In the case of Gasol, in addition, with the component of the return to his country as added.

Gasol, according to Nurse, has had a bad time in recent months. And not only sportingly. “He contemplated the possibility of not going to the bubble because he was worried about his elderly parents who live in Spain, which has been one of the hot spots of COVID-19”, says the journalist. “It has been hard for him. He handles himself much better with the certainty that he has his family and that everything is going well for them. He did not have that comfort and they were too far away”, says the technician.

MacMullan also talks about Marc’s interest in returning to his country to play: “Gasol is contemplating going back to Spain. Although there was an erroneous news that said that he had already signed with Barcelona, ​​it may become something simply premature. Nurse has realized that Gasol may really leave.”.

The rumor mill was activated when Gasol’s intention to enroll his children in a school in Barcelona was known, which means very little in the basketball context. His contract with the Raptors has ended, so he has no fixed headquarters in America, and it has not yet been decided when the next season will begin, so any life plan that you want to make for the immediate future has to happen because it is decided, between the NBA and NBPA, when the 2020/21 season will start . In Spain it has taken root in basketball, becoming president of Bàsquet Girona and creating a 3×3 team, and He has always left the door open to finish his career in Spain, from which he left in 2008 being the year and lord of the ACB.

He Barcelona? Look for a pivot, yes. Names like Jan Vesely, Quincy Acy or Vincent Poirier have come to the fore, but keep looking. In the Catalan club they drop the obvious interest in Marc, still with a way of performing on the courts far superior to most of the players in his position. The problem would be, if there is any possibility, in the money that Gasol would be willing to accept.

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