Marc Gasol says he wanted to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies, but is thankful the franchise ignored his request and traded him to the Toronto Raptors.

Gasol won his first championship, as the Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals in six games.

“There have been few players that haven’t been traded over the years in the NBA. If it had been depended on me, I wouldn’t have been traded. I always thought I could reverse the situation there [in Memphis] and bring the team to the top. But, thank God, they ignored me,” Gasol said to reporters in the Antiga Fabrica Estrella Damm in Barcelona, per the Europa Press news agency.

The Grizzlies are in rebuild mode, as Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are now gone, two pillars of the franchise. Gasol has already opted into his 2019-20 player option with the Raptors. He did so before Kawhi Leonard decided to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Gasol is a loyal guy. He wanted things to work out in Memphis. However, the All-Star center is happy ownership sent him to a team which wound up winning the title.

The ovation Gasol is going to get in 2019-20 when he returns to Memphis is going to be deafening. It will surely be an emotional night for the Spaniard.