MVN - Most Valuable Network

Marc Gasol to NBA

Marc Gasol called a press conference Monday in Spain to announce that he would be leaving Spain to play in the NBA next season.

The interesting thing all along has been that Gasol has never mentioned the Grizzlies specifically when discussing the fact that he wants to come over and play in the NBA.

Now, whether this is just posturing because the Grizzlies can’t officially sign Gasol until July or something more I don’t know.

What I do know is that Gasol’s announcement that he is coming to play in the NBA would greatly increase any trade value he would have if Memphis were looking to make any sort of trade.

I honestly really don’t know what to think, as honestly, when Juan Carlos Navarro bolted back to Spain, I thought it greatly hampered Memphis’ chances of getting the younger Gasol to cover over and play.

This along with the fact that he would basically be seen as replacing his older brother, in a city where his brother was not all that popular lead me to believe that it might be better for Marc to start his NBA career elsewhere. Add this to the fact that he, along with Javaris Crittenton and whomever the 28th overall pick will be, will face pressure to perform because of the fact that they were apart of that lopsided trade push the agenda that Gasol will face a tough start in Memphis even more likely.

But Gasol went to high school in Memphis and is familiar with the area, so I can see why it would look attractive for Marc to come over and start his NBA career with a city and franchise that he is familiar with.

Either way, it appears Gasol will be playing the the NBA next season, with or against the Grizzlies.

Grizzlies looking to dump Cardinal’s salary?: We all know the answer to this question is yes, but it appears they may be willing to deal the 5th overall pick to whomever will take on the final two years of Cardinal’s $13 million contract.

The teams mentioned are the Knicks, Trail Blazers, and Suns, with the only package being mentioned is the Knicks sending Fs David Lee and Malik Rose (expiring contract) to the Grizzlies for the 5th overall pick and Cardinal.

Honestly, if the Grizzlies make this move, I don’t see how they are going to stay in Memphis, as this would kill absolutely any interest in the team, showing the owner Michael Heisley is more interested in making a profit then putting a winning team on the court.

This would be a PR disaster for Memphis on the level of the Gasol trade, as it would offer more steam that they are just looking to cut costs left and right, assuming the fans won’t show up.

The only trade I would like to see the Grizzlies do is to trade down, with the Nets being the most likely option, as Memphis would ideally get both the 10th and 21st overall picks, allowing them to address the multiple needs this roster has.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 pm and is filed under Grizzlies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.