Credit: BNS, AFP-Scanpix
Credit BNS, AFP-Scanpix

Pau Gasol was presented as Iberia's (Spanish airlines) Cultural Change Adviser on Monday in Madrid.

Lorenzo Brown

Lorenzo  Brown
Team: UNIKS Kazan
Position: SG
Age: 31
Height: 198 cm
Weight: 90 kg
Birth place: Georgia, United States of America

Later on, he answered questions from the Spanish press.

First, Gasol touched on Basquet Girona, which is a second Spanish division club founded by his brother Marc Gasol. The latter also competes for this squad.

"The project is going very well. My brother's involvement is complete," Gasol said, via AS. "Club's idea is to identify the team with the city. It has a very broad development at the base, with talented boys and girls. In the end, what you want to create is a large and long-term project. You not only have to reach the ACB, but you must be economically and financially sustainable.

Marc is one of the most important players on the team, but he won't be around forever so you have to create something solid. And he is doing it," the two-time NBA champ continued."

"The progression of the club has been incredible. My brother sent a powerful message: he could be in any NBA club or European powerhouse, nevertheless, he is in Girona, in LEB Oro. It says a lot about his values," Pau Gasol praised Marc.

The 41-year-old former athlete also spoke about his first and last professional basketball club, FC Barcelona. He evaluated their performance in the EuroLeague Final Four, where Barca finished third.

"Barcelona is a great team and has been the best in Europe for most of the year. You can lose the Final Four because of the format. It's hard. They were regular-season leaders the last two years and it's a good sign, although I understand that it is not pleasant to lose in Final Four. But it's part of team growth.

Lorenzo Brown

Lorenzo  Brown
Lorenzo  Brown
MIN: 29.36
PTS: 13.75 (55.38%)
REB: 3.63
As: 6.08
ST: 1.5
BL: 0.17
TO: 2.92
GM: 24

The latest victory in the Canary Islands was very important. They showed character and it is an improvement compared to last year in which Barca were not able to close the quarterfinal or semifinal series away from home.

Cory Higgins' return after a five-month break is very important. They should fight for the title and I hope they can win it," Gasol stated.

Credit Imago Images/Scanpix

Asked about the coaching route in his future, Pau Gasol responded that it depends on the time.

"I have worked and done little things with some young players, who want to learn and train individually. And I like to do that because it's a flexible job. Yes, I am exploring possibilities with some US franchises at the moment but without any hurry or anything specific.

Many of the things I am doing, the position in IOC (Gasol is representative of athletes in the International Olympic Committee) occupy me a certain time and responsibility. It requires very broad cooperation and I want to continue being at home, with my family."

Finally, Pau Gasol had some words to say about the possible naturalization of Lorenzo Brown.

Several Spanish media outlets reported that the country works on the express naturalization so that Brown can play the EuroBasket 2022 which starts for the national team on September 1 in Georgia. However, the process is not easy, as Brown should give up his US passport to get the Spanish one.

"I've heard it. Also something about Serge [Ibaka]. If they use Lorenzo or whoever as a naturalized player, it will be to help and that's the job of the coaches and the Federation. Then you analyze if it has worked well or not. With important absences in the point guard position, it seems a reinforcement is needed, let's say.

I haven't followed Lorenzo Brown much, but he will be a good player. The team's job will be to introduce him to the team dynamics and identity. Make him feel like one of the others. We need to have cohesion in order to be able to beat opponents with more individual quality," the Spanish basketball legend concluded.

Comments:
We want to hear from you. Be the first to comment!
Thank you for reporting a comment

Add comment

We have the right to remove comments which are offensive, contains abusive language, or violates other rules of the website

Points this season

49%
81,5
Points made: 81,5
Accuracy: 49,2%
Place in standings: 2
Record max: 111
Record min: 52
Best scorer: Nikola Mirotic