Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol is easily one of the most talented big men in the NBA, but his season struggles thus far have led to severe criticism on both the player and head coach Mike D'Antoni.
This criticism has also led to speculation the idea that D'Antoni will look to bring the two-time NBA champion off the bench.
However, Sports Illustrated reports that Gasol is not willing to take on the reserve role and that because he's been a starter his entire career, he would like to maintain that position for the remainder of the season.
"I've never come off the bench in my career," Gasol said. "(Thursday) was my first game off the bench with the Lakers, maybe a couple other games due to injuries, but that's it. I've been a starter my entire career. I've been a star starter my entire career, so I want to continue to be a star starter."
Gasol is obviously not pleased about the reports that D'Antoni is thinking about placing Earl Clark in the starting lineup instead of him. D'Antoni brought Gasol off the bench in the Lakers' loss to the Miami Heat, but there is chance that Gasol will be playing with the second unit for the foreseeable future.
This season Gasol has averaged a career-low 12.2 points per game and his shooting a disappointing 42 percent from the field.
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