Grizzlies news: Pau Gasol not trying to persuade Marc Gasol to demand trade

Pau Gasol understands how difficult the situation of his brother, Marc Gasol, is with the Memphis Grizzlies. Having one of their worst seasons in franchise history, coupled with the uncertain direction they are headed to, gives the younger Gasol a lot of reason to be upset.

Being the veteran that he is, Pau Gasol understands how difficult the situation of his brother, Marc Gasol, is with the Memphis Grizzlies. Having one of their worst seasons in franchise history, coupled with the uncertain direction they are headed to, gives the younger Gasol a lot of reason to be upset.

However, the San Antonio Spurs big man shared that he did not persuade him to demand a trade from his team.

The two-time NBA champion shared what he told Marc, and made it known that his advice to him is to remain professional and just keep on playing. Pau also added, via Ronald Tillery of USA TODAY Sports, that he was in a different situation, which forced him to ask to be dealt, when he was still playing for the Grizzlies.

“What I told him is, ‘Do your best. Keep competing.’ That’s the only thing you can control,” Pau said. “You can’t control that one of your best players, Mike Conley, is out for the year. You can’t control that (Chandler) Parsons, one of your biggest signings, has an (injury) issue and so forth. All you can control is your effort, your work ethic, your mindset going into games.”

“It got to a point where I felt like I needed to be somewhere else to have a chance to win and be in a franchise that provided me with more consistency, and a shot at winning a championship. That’s what I wanted at the time. I was 27 years old. Marc is at a different stage.”

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“Marc has enjoyed the best years of the franchise. They had very good teams. They’ve consistently been a competitive team. Right now, they’re going through a lot of changing with maybe some questionable decisions upstairs. … It’s been a hard year. No question. Marc is a great professional. He gets upset, but he knows he has to just go out and play.”

The Grizzlies are currently stuck in the last place in the Western Conference with a dismal 18-44 record. There are a number of factors that have led to them not winning a lot of games, with injuries to key players being one of the reasons. Marc Gasol has also missed some matches due to different injuries, but is expected to return to action on Monday against the Spurs. It's definitely a good sign for the Grizzlies, as he is undoubtedly their best player and will give them a bigger chance to finish the season strong.

For what it's worth, Pau Gasol can encourage his younger brother to play his best on the night, especially with them sharing the court together. It may seem difficult to do with nothing to play for anymore, but ending the year on a high note will give the Grizzlies some momentum for next season, and boost their morale as well.