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Pau Gasol's 2013-14 season

Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol of Spain, who is injured, smiles on the bench against the Utah Jazz during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. The Jazz won 96-79. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)
Los Angeles Lakers' Pau Gasol of Spain, who is injured, smiles on the bench against the Utah Jazz during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. The Jazz won 96-79. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

After suffering through a dismal 27-55 season that ranked as the worst since the move from Minneapolis made them the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol is now a man with options. This was the final season of the three-year, $57 million extension he signed in the winter of 2009, and after the nearly-34-year-old pivot showed he can still get it done on the offensive end this season, averaging just under 17.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists and two combined blocks/steals in 31 1/2 minutes per game, Gasol figures to have some suitors in free agency this summer ... and after 6 1/2 seasons in purple and gold, Pau seems increasingly prepared for the prospect of plying his trade elsewhere next season.
Dan Devine