Memphis Grizzlies: 5 goals for the 2018 offseason

1. Start the rebuild

Both Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have been a part of the Grizzlies and staples of the Memphis community for what seems like forever, which makes moving on from them that much harder to do.

At 33 and 30 years of age, the best of Gasol and Conley are behind them, and with Memphis clearly headed toward a youth movement, their timelines no longer matches up with the franchise.

It would be in the best interest for all parties if the Grizzlies traded both Conley and Gasol to teams where they can continue to compete at a high level, allowing Memphis to say goodbye to the past while embracing the future.

Parting ways with the two Grizzlies greats would also shed a lot of salary off Memphis’ payroll, with Conley set to make over $96 million until 2021, while Gasol is on the books for close to $50 million until 2020. This would provide Memphis with tons of financial flexibility, enough to take on unwanted salaries in exchange for draft picks.

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It’s never easy to say goodbye to a player that meant so much to a franchise, let alone two, but at this point, neither Conley or Gasol has any use on a team that doesn’t seem to be competing at a high level any time soon.