Baffoe: What All-Star Pau Gasol Knew About Chicago And The Bulls

By Tim Baffoe-

(CBS) Pau Gasol knew something. The Chicago Bulls center knows a lot of things, as is obvious to anyone who follows him and his many interests on social media, but this past offseason he knew something different was best for him.

Gasol was wise but old in basketball years. His skills seemed in their winter, his stats on a steady decline. His mind and his heart weren't satisfied as his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expired.

Being an All-Star Game starter for the first time in his career at age 34 — as Gasol was named on Thursday — was doubtfully what he knew exactly. He just knew the right fit when he saw it.

The Lakers -- with whom he had played all his ball since being dealt from Memphis for his brother, Marc, in February of the 2008 season -- offered Gasol more money than the Bulls to stay. But looking at the direction the Lakers were headed, despite a plea from frenemy Kobe Bryant, the Spanish big man knew that L.A. had run its course. Even a city that huge, that diverse and that cosmopolitan can dry up the interests of a guy as complex as Gasol.

Winning basketball games was certainly a factor in where he would land. At 34 and with a Hall of Fame resume, the ring is the thing at such a point on a career timeline. Jewelry is nice and all, but Gasol also seeks greater satisfactions.

Hence his refusal to join Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to make the Oklahoma City Thunder that much more of a power in the Western Conference. Not that Gasol has anything against those guys or doesn't think a Thunder jersey suits him. For Gasol, the "where" of his home team is almost as important as the "who."

Most of what the Thunder could offer was fine and dandy, but Durant hinted it wasn't to be before Gasol ever said it.

New York, Miami and San Antonio all tried to lure Gasol, but he found them all respectively incomplete options. He wanted a chance to feed his winning desire that is most important to him. But the environs that could feed his hunger for art and history and culture, things he has great passion for, were important as well.

Chicago then became the perfect place.

"I thought the Bulls had a great opportunity, a great potential to achieve something special," Gasol said about his ultimate choice last summer. "Having a nice mix of young players that are extremely hungry that haven't got to that level yet but are close. I wanted to be a part of that, and my gut also told me, 'Hey, this is a place you want to be.' "

"Gut" was likely savvy veteran-speak. He knew something about the Bulls.

"Money obviously wasn't the priority here," Gasol said at his introductory press conference. "I turned down bigger offers, and I prioritized being on a championship-caliber team and being in a position where I can hopefully put that team over the top with my game as well. I felt that here, I was going to have that opportunity, and now it's just a matter of getting to work."

He also knew something about Chicago itself.

"To me, it was important on a personal level because I'm not just a basketball player," Gasol said. "I have other interests, other desires than basketball, and Chicago had a lot to offer from that aspect."

In a city that prides itself on thinking it's so blue collar, it can be easy to forget Chicago is one of the world's great cultural, artistic and architectural hubs. Living here all one's life, those traits may get taken for granted. But to a potential newcomer like Gasol, Chicago is golden.

And now it's trips to the Lyric Opera.

Sometimes even with a friend.

More importantly, it's dominating his opponents on the court. This season has been a renaissance for Gaso,l as he's averaging 18.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game and leads the team in defensive win shares and ranks second only to Jimmy Butler on the team in overall win shares.

Gasol has replaced the much-maligned Carlos Boozer (who ironically joined the Lakers) in eye-opening fashion, considering Gasol's age and recent seasons. He's a key piece in what the Bulls assume is a run at an Eastern Conference title. And now Gasol finds himself on his fifth All-Star team, this time against brother Marc as the first brother pair to ever start the game.

"He's earned it," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I think he's played at an extremely high level the entire season. He's been strong on both sides of the ball."

Chicagoans were somewhat bitter with the arrival of Gasol. It was assumed the Bulls were "settling" on him after missing out on the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes. It was yet seemingly another offseason in which the Bulls couldn't land the best possible free agent.

If Bulls fans only knew.

Tim Baffoe is a columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimBaffoe.

In:
• Pau Gasol
• Tom Thibodeau