The NBA Free Agents are slithering beneath the Playoff news. One of the top free agents who will definitely check his options is Pau Gasol.

Gasol loves the city of Los Angeles and he is also a model citizen. However, the Lakers have actually traded him (for Chris Paul, but it was rescinded by then commissioner Donald Stern) and was always at odds with the two former coaches. He was constantly in the rumor mill and right until the recent trade deadline.

This fact has cast doubt on how sincere the Lakers are in naming him as a priority. Their other free agent, Kobe Bryant, already signed a huge contract extension as early as January.

Despite the big dip in Gasol's personal averages, there are still a lot of teams interested in garnering the services of the skilled 7-footer.

The LA Times translated an interview with Pau on Spanish website marca.com: "I'm not ruling anything out. Of course, I hope the Lakers will make an offer - one that is good enough for me to consider - but I'm open to any offers that I would consider interesting and motivating for my present and my future."

"The city of Memphis attracts me because it's a city I know, there's an opportunity of playing with my brother and they have a solid team."

He also said the Chicago Bulls, with the return of Derrick Rose and the possible addition of fellow Spaniard Nikola Mirotic, could be an interesting team. He also gave a nod to Western Conference rivals the San Antonio Spurs.

"The Spurs players maybe don't rack up statistics, but the team and the coach they have, to me, seems like a very good option. In the end, I'm more interested in a team than an individual player and how I would adjust and be worked into a system."

The Spurs would be a good fit for Pau. The impending retirement of Tim Duncan will leave a gaping hole for the Spurs-one that current center Tiago Splitter would not be able to fill as yet.

Pau is a skilled and disciplined post player-the kind that Coach Pop wants. Also, Popovich knows how to coach older players and gives them enough rest-perfect situation for the 33 year old.

San Antonio does not usually pursue top free agents and is usually not mentioned as a high profile destination. But Gasol is not after a big market or a blazing nightlife. He just wants to play good basketball. For the last 16 years, that's what the Spurs have been doing.