3 biggest offseason questions facing the Toronto Raptors
2. Will Marc Gasol exercise his player option?
Marc Gasol was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a midseason trade. In 53 games with the Grizz, Gasol’s averages included 15.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per outing. Unlike Danny Green, Gasol didn’t fit in very well in his new surroundings initially.
During the last 26 games of the regular season, his averages dipped to 9.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per outing. Furthermore, he averaged less than nine points per game through the first three rounds of the Raptors’ postseason run.
In the Finals, however, it was a different story altogether. While Big Spain scored just three points and shot a forgettable 0-for-5 from the field in the series finale, he reached double figures in three of the six Finals games en route to averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 boards per outing.
Gasol has until June 27 to decide if he will pick up his $25.6 million player option. As one would expect, though, that isn’t what he’s thinking about right now.
Predictably, Gasol says he hasn’t looked into player option too much. “Now’s the time to celebrate and enjoy this moment."
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 16, 2019
If Gasol does pick up his option, he will be the second-highest paid player on the roster (depending on what happens with Leonard), and being that he may not earn that much on his next deal, no one would blame him for staying put.