Yesterday we posted that except for the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol is only considering one other team;The San Antonio Spurs. Turns out, maybe even that isn’t something Gasol is considering.
The 30-year old center who has played his entire career for the Grizzlies (since 2008) and had a career-best season in 2014-2015 (17.4 points per game) isn’t planning on meeting with anyone else but the Grizzlies. Sure, the Los Angeles Lakers would love to have him (who wouldn’t) and the San Antonio Spurs are keeping him in mind but it seems that for Gasol, Memphis is the only place to be.
Gasol played his high school basketball in Memphis while his older brother, Pau (now with the Bulls), played for the Grizzlies. The younger Gasol brothers finished high school, played in Spain for a few years and when he decided on heading back to the United States he joined the Grizzlies. He was actually a draft pick by the Lakers (second round, 2007) but the rights to him were traded to Memphis when the Lakers acquired his older brother.
Pau’s experiences with the Lakers and especially the last three years are part of the reason the younger Gasol brother isn’t even thinking about joining the Lakers. He has a good thing going in Memphis, and although it’s a franchise that has a hard time making significant upgrades to get over the hump they seem to be stuck at, they’ve been making moves, trying to turn this team into a champion contender from just a very good one.