Fresh off Spurs' buyout, Gasol signs with Bucks

March 4 (Reuters) - The Milwaukee Bucks, recently rumored to be interested in big man Pau Gasol, announced his signing on Sunday.

Gasol spent nearly three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs before agreeing to terms on a buyout on Friday. The move came in time for him to be eligible for postseason play with his new team.

At 38, Gasol is in his 18th NBA season and won two titles with the Los Angeles Lakers a decade ago. The 7-footer will add more size to the Bucks' frontcourt, alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo for the team that has the best record in the league at 48-15.

A six-time All-Star, Gasol has career averages of 17.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. His minutes dwindled in San Antonio (career-low 12.2 minutes per game this season), and his offensive averages plummeted as well to 4.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Gasol tweeted that he is "thrilled to begin this new chapter in my @NBA journey with the great @Bucks. I look forward to the challenge."

Gasol was the third pick overall in the 2001 NBA Draft, selected by the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks dealt his rights to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Gasol spent seven-plus seasons with the Grizzlies (2001-08), another seven-plus with the Lakers (2008-14), and two with the Chicago Bulls (2014-16) before signing as a free agent with the Spurs before the 2016-17 season.