Paul Gasol is interested in going back in time.
At one time during his career, Gasol was a bona fide highly thought of big man, who was considered on of the elite centers in the game.
Gasol is now fighting for his reputation, and is eager to reclaim some of his lost glory, after the departure of Dwight Howard, and the uncertainty of Kobe Bryant.
Gasol is looking to reassert himself, and according to the Associated Press, get back to being a dominant big man.
“I have a great motivation,” he said. “It’s the last year of my contract, so I want to get back to being one of the top players in the league.”
“I think I have the most uncertain period behind me,” Gasol told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “The team has suffered a lot of changes, but as far as me, I am back in the position of a lot of responsibility, which I like, and I’m just going to focus on getting healthy.
“Now with Dwight gone I am the reference inside and I am more like I was a couple of years back when we made the finals three straight times and won two straight championships,” he added.
The Lakers need Gasol to get back to playing at a high level if they want to have any shot of making the playoffs.