2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions: Pau Gasol To Knicks! Former Coach Phil Jackson Beckons! Brother Marc Will Follow Next Year?

The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions continue to roll and Pau Gasol is one of the quality big men available. One of the stalwarts of the Lakers back-to-back titles in 2009-10, he is still a good acquisition.

No one would appreciate Gasol's value more than Phil Jackson, the Knicks' new president. He knows that the last two coaches that the Lakers had (Mike Brown, Mike D'Antoni) did not utilize Gasol's skills to the fullest.

Despite all the talk of Carmelo leaving, Jackson is confident that he has established enough with Melo to make him stay, and adding Pau to the mix is part of the plan. From ESPN:

"Sources told ESPN.com that Knicks officials, while not willing to trumpet it publicly with free agency fast approaching, are quietly confident about their odds of retaining Anthony thanks in part to the idea that new team president Phil Jackson and the high-scoring forward have "connected" to some degree.

Furthermore, one source close to the process told ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne that Jackson is planning to make a determined attempt to try to recruit his former Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol to replace the freshly traded Tyson Chandler alongside Anthony on the Knicks' front line, despite the fact New York is limited to offering Gasol less than $4 million for next season."

They need to free up more cap space, and it is probably the Zen Master's plan to make more moves. The odds are against them as Pau Gasol would definitely get more than $ 4 million from other teams. He may even get up to $ 10 million.

However, the Knicks are counting on some intangibles to sway the Spanish center. Aside from Phil Jackson, head coach Derek Fisher is a long-time teammate. New York also acquired Jose Calderon, Pau's comrade from Spain. A wildcard that the Knicks have, though, is the possibility of reuniting the Gasol brothers. The Knicks will have a ton of cap space next year, when Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani 's combined $ 35 million go off the books. They are more than capable of making a run for Marc.

Will these be enough to convince Pau? Jackson needs all his Zen powers to pull it off.