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The Memphis Grizzlies are simply fading into obscurity. From being a dangerous defensive team and the year in year out dark horse of the mighty Western Conference, they are now one of the worst teams in the league (17-31, 12th in the West). All that's left of the “Grit and Grind” core are Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, who's season is over due to an Achilles injury.
With that, Gasol's name is being thrown around various trade talks, since he's now a classic case of a star player getting stuck on a bottom-feeding team. According to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer, however, the longtime Grizzly will stay in Memphis — at least for this season:
Article Continues Below“Though teams are checking in on Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, as reported before, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll get moved. Memphis could think about it in the future, but for now, the team is riding it out.”
Willie Hope of the Sports Quotient, meanwhile, believes that Gasol is “untradeable:”
“Gasol is past his prime and set to make over $25 million in the last year of his contract in 2020 when he turns 35.
The game now is also about spacing the floor and diverse big men who can guard. Gasol shoots the three at close to 33% this year and is only making about one a game. His true shooting percentage is also below 53%, the second lowest of his career. In addition, he is not the same defender as five years ago when he was named Defensive Player of the Year.”
While Gasol still has a ton of trade value, Hope hit well on all of his other points. With a 41.8 percent clip from the field, the Grizzlies big man is having his worst season shooting-wise. The good numbers (18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 blocks) also appear to be empty stats, as he has failed to push the team to — at the very least — a .500 record.
