Things have gone downhill in a hurry for the Memphis Grizzlies.
They have lost 16 of their last 17 games and have gone from 7-4 to last place in the western conference at 8-20.
One of their stars is out recovering from Achilles and heel soreness, but the other has been slogging away with the rest of the struggling Grizzlies over the past month. I am talking about Marc Gasol of course.
Usually when a situation goes south like this, the star players either demand a trade or the organization decides it is time to blow it up and sell off their best assets. Gasol is aware of this, but he ensured ESPN’s Zach Lowe that he will not demand a trade from the Grizzlies but he is open to one if that is what the organization decides.
Here is what he told Lowe:
“I have a responsibility to this city,” Gasol says. “I’m not gonna quit, no matter what.” What if Memphis fell 30 games under .500? Gasol shakes his head. “I would want to see how we got there — what the process is,” Gasol says. “But as long as [owner] Robert [Pera] wants me here, my teammates want me here, they think I’m part of the solution — and not part of the problem — that’s all I need.” (Gasol still denies he asked for Fizdale to be fired, though the tension between them was real, sources say.)
‘If the team came to him with a trade, Gasol would accept it. “If they think it is best, I would do anything for this franchise,” Gasol says.”
Gasol seems to be a loyal guy and he feels that he owes a lot of his NBA success to the Grizzlies franchise, which he does, so it makes sense that he won’t try to bail on them unless they decide they need to move on from him.
It is clear that the organization sided with him over former head coach David Fizdale and he is probably aware of that loyalty.
So what should the Grizzlies do? Considering the top five players in this year’s draft class could be really special on the NBA level ( I mean really special, Ayton, Bagley, Doncic, Porter & Bamba) and the Grizzlies are currently tied for the league’s second worst record, it would make sense to deal Gasol to Cleveland for instance and grab another lottery pick and go all in on a rebuild.
That would feel a little odd with a 30-year-old point guard that makes $30 million for the next three seasons and a oft-injured small forward making $24 million over the next two seasons still on your roster though.
The best course of action in my opinion is to play out the string, sit out Conley for the remainder of the season and land a top five pick and see where you’re at next season with a presumably healthy Conley, Gasol and young stud.
