The Chicago Bulls recovered quickly after losing out on Carmelo Anthony in free agency, landing Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol to bolster the teams offence. Jesse Lingard Jersey . Gasol announced on his verified Twitter account on Saturday evening that he reached agreement with the Bulls. "It hasnt been easy," Gasol tweeted. "After meditating it a lot Ive chosen to play with the Chicago Bulls. Looking forward to this new chapter of my career." The Spaniard is one of the NBAs most offensively gifted and versatile big men, and he has long been one of Kobe Bryants favourite teammates with the Lakers. Gasol spent the last seven seasons in Los Angeles, teaming with Bryant to win two championships and reach another NBA Finals. The exact terms of his agreement with the Bulls were not immediately clear. The Bulls and Lakers had reportedly been discussing sign-and-trade options earlier in the day Saturday, but no official announcement from either team had been made. The 7-foot Gasol is a four-time All-Star and averaged 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 60 games last season with Los Angeles, and he brings some sorely needed offensive punch to the Bulls frontcourt. Even with Derrick Rose expected to be ready to start next season after missing most of the last two years with knee injuries, the Bulls were still very much in the hunt for some offensive help for one of the most hard-nosed defensive teams in the league. With Rose out last season, Tom Thibodeaus group still managed to win 48 games and make the playoffs for the sixth straight season thanks largely to a defence led by Joakim Noah up front and Jimmy Butler on the perimeter. But scoring proved to be very difficult at times, and the Bulls lost to the Washington Wizards in five games of their first-round series. Thats why they were so hot after Anthony, perhaps the best pure scorer in the game. The Bulls felt he would be a perfect fit to be surrounded by a defensive-minded supporting cast. But as reports swirled that Anthony would remain with the Knicks, the Bulls didnt waste any time moving on. Now Gasol will team with Noah, a very good passer in the high post, in a formidable frontcourt tandem. Its also the end of an era for Gasol and the Lakers. His arrival in a trade from Memphis helped quell Bryants dissatisfaction with the direction of the franchise after owner Jerry Buss decided to move Shaquille ONeal and go forward with Bryant as the unquestioned face of the franchise. He arrived in the middle of the 2007-08 season and helped the Lakers reach the finals after a three-season absence. They lost to the Boston Celtics that time, but rebounded to win the next two championships. Gasol was the subject of trade rumours for much of his time in Los Angeles but always had the steadfast backing of Bryant. But Gasol just turned 34, battled foot injuries last season and clashed with coach Mike DAntoni several times. DAntoni is gone, but the Lakers are trying to preserve their long-term salary cap flexibility to make a run at another big star next summer, so bringing the aging big man back was not considered a high priority. Antonio Valencia Jersey . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game. Chris Smalling Jersey . Two weeks after suffering a concussion, Foles will start in place of Michael Vick, who is out for the second time this season with a hamstring injury.Two teams in the headlines will do battle in the Western Conference semifinals when the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Los Angeles Clippers in the series-opener Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. For the second-seeded Thunder, "Mr. Unreliable" became something of a rallying cry. The Oklahoman ran that headline describing Kevin Durant, who will probably be handed the leagues MVP award before a home game during this series. Durant responded with 36 and 33 points in the final two games against the Memphis Grizzlies, both double-digit victories for OKC in elimination games during the first round. "Hes one of the best players on the planet," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said of his superstar. "Hes going to continue to help us win games and move us forward, not only with his shot-making, but his playmaking." Sadly, the Clippers headlines were of a much more serious tone during the first round against Golden State. Their owner, Donald Sterling, was caught on tape making racist comments. It affected the team in its Game 4 loss, then, before Game 5, NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life and prompted the Board of Governors to force Sterling to sell the team. Through this tumultuous time, the third-seeded Clippers hung on for a Game 7 win over the Warriors. "I just wanted us to win the game," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "Not because of all of this stuff, butt this team just needed this win. Phil Jones Jersey. I thought our guys fought. The adversity, they went through it. It drained them and they found enough energy to find a way to win the game." Each team features two superstars. For the Thunder, Durant averaged 29.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 blocks against the Grizz. Granted, Durant shot 44 percent and 32 percent from 3-point range, which are low numbers by his standards. Russell Westbrook averaged 25.6 points in the Grizzlies series, but he took 23 shot attempts a game, which was the same number as Durant. Westbrook shot 38 percent from the field and committed 4.9 turnovers per game. For LA, Chris Paul is the leader and scored 22 points and handed out 14 assists in the Game 7 victory. Blake Griffin blossomed into a well-rounded offensive machine. And special mention to Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan, who averaged 12.1 points, 15.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocks against the Warriors. During the season, the two squads were evenly matched. The Thunder have won five of the last seven meetings, but the two sides split four games this season and each team managed a win on the road. The Thunder were eliminated in this round last season by the Grizzlies when Westbrook got hurt in the first round against the Houston Rockets. The Clippers have never advanced past the second round in franchise history. Game 2 will be Wednesday night in OKC. Cheap Hoodies From ChinaDiscount NFL ShirtsCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale China JerseysWholesale Jerseys From ChinaCheap JerseysCheap Jerseys Fast ShippingChina JerseysStitched Jerseys ' ' '