Memphis Grizzlies: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season
By Max Carlin
4. A tear down is necessary, but isn’t coming
It is painfully obvious that the Grizzlies must undergo a full-scale rebuild, and yes, that means trading the greatest player in franchise history. With Gasol, we’ve reached the unavoidable point where all superstars regrettably find themselves: reputation exceeds reality.
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Intelligence and positioning are no longer sufficient to compensate for the unwelcome truth that Gasol moves with the grace of an actual grizzly. The former Defensive Player of the Year’s defense, quite simply, isn’t good anymore.
Couple that with the big Spaniard’s declining efficiency (despite his high-volume 3-point shooting), and you have a player who isn’t all that valuable anymore.
Despite his on-court decline, Gasol is set to earn about $25 million per year for each of the next two years – his age-33 and -34 seasons.
If the Grizzlies were going to get off that money, it had to be at February’s trade deadline, but according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Memphis shut down any and all calls that mentioned the franchise center.
Memphis needs to tear it down, but with no hope of moving Conley’s gargantuan deal and the opportunity to move Gasol missed, no such tear down is coming.