LA Lakers Bid Farewell To Pau Gasol, 'The Kindest And Most Respectful NBA Player!' Spain's Best Player Likely To End Career In Chicago

For the last seven years, Pau Gasol was not just the star center who brought titles to the LA Lakers, he was also one of Los Angeles' most beloved citizens. Despite being on the trade rumor mill, Gasol remained professional and was an epitome of a classy gentleman--very rare among athletes. 

Everybody knows how Gasol's skillful play has brought the glory back to the Lakers. But not everyone knows how many lives he has touched among the Lakers' faithful in the seven years he donned the Purple and Gold. ESPN notes two examples: 

Paul Nankivell worked with the Lakers' video department and was absorbed by Time Warner. He recalls: 

"Because of him, I got the chance to ride in parades, wear championship rings, and get champagne in my eyes after beating the Boston Celtics. But more importantly, I got to meet the kindest and most respectful NBA player I've ever come across. Good luck in Chicago Pau....LA will miss you."

Ty Nowell is in charge of the content on the team's official website and social media content  "Honestly, the guy changed my life. He made the Lakers the Lakers again at a formative stage in my career. Besides being a better human than the rest of us, I'll always owe him that." 

Lakers blog Silver Screen and Roll had this tribute in the context of the numerous trade rumors that hounded Pau in the last three years of his stay in LA:

"Through it all, Gasol acted with a sense of grace and dignity all-too-foreign to the modern athlete. He was a professional through and through, a gentleman in situations where it would be entirely understandable if he were anything but. Whether it was hordes of Lakers fans calling for his departure, critics repeatedly asking questions of his toughness long after he proved its existence or the front office openly plopping him right on the trading block, it feels like we've been waving goodbye at Pau Gasol for the longest time. Nothing he did  was quite enough to quell those cries season after season. It felt that just as soon as his toughness was moderately accepted in what has been coined as the franchise's greatest Finals triumph, critics were openly opining for the team to jettison an "aging player".  Except in the rarest of moments, we never quite appreciated him enough for what he was. It's ironic--it seems that we were always too busy looking at his future, while the man himself couldn't do anything besides trying to be satisfied in the present."

Farewell, Pau Gasol. With the three year contract at $22 million, it is likely that he would retire in Chicago.