The Grizzlies Are At The Crossroads

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When the Memphis Grizzlies entered the NBA, they were a laughing stock. The Grizzlies joined the NBA as an expansion team and they were based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Grizzlies were never close to fielding a winning team while they were in Vancouver and being that it is a hockey town, basketball there was the equivalent to mixing oil and water. In 2001, the Grizzlies decided to pack up and leave Vancouver in favor of Memphis, Tennessee where they’ve been based out of ever sense. And by their third season in Memphis, the Grizzlies secured their first winning season along with their first trip to the NBA Playoffs. The past five years have seen the Grizzlies make the postseason and in the process become a thorn in the side of the top teams in the Western Conference. In 2011, the Grizzlies upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a grueling seven-game series in the Western Conference Semifinals. In 2013, the Grizzlies made their first and only trip to the Western Conference Finals in franchise history, but there the Spurs were too strong and thus denied them a spot in the NBA Finals. Not even a coaching change slowed the Grizzlies down as head coach Lionel Hollins was replaced by Dave Joerger in 2013. But when the Grizzlies were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs last night at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, it could mark the end of an era in Memphis.

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Marc Gasol

Grizzlies center Marc Gasol is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and the basketball world is wondering which NBA city that he will call home next season. Gasol is a native of Spain and he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft. Gasol never played for the Lakers as he remained in Europe. But the Lakers maintained Gasol’s draft rights and traded him to the Grizzlies in 2008 in a move that saw his older brother Pau sent to Los Angeles from Memphis in the trade. The younger Gasol has spent his entire NBA career with the Grizzlies as he has morphed into one the league’s better big men. Gasol is a two-time NBA All-Star who has averaged 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in the league. Gasol has that European-type game as he is a scorer and a facilitator. Gasol along with power forward Zach Randolph have made the Grizzlies a formidable team in the Western Conference as Memphis has two quality big men who both possess different offensive skills sets. Where Gasol can pass, post up down low, and hit the mid-range jump shot, Randolph is a back-to-the-basket guy that loves to bang down low in the post and the combination of these two is very tough to defend.

NBA teams will be lining up this summer as they will covet Gasol and his skill set. But with the NBA’s salary cap expected to be around $66 million next season before it explodes to around $80 million in 2017 with the league’s new television contract, the Grizzlies could be in line to offer Gasol a maximum contract. With nearly $50 million committed to player’s salaries next season, the Grizzlies could simply deal with the luxury tax for the upcoming season or back load the money on a potential Gasol contract.

Along with Randolph and point guard Mike Conley Jr., Gasol has been a part of the Grizzlies core that has made them one of the better teams in the Western Conference. And losing Gasol would be a huge blow for the Grizzlies as they are only a few players away from being a championship team. As good as Gasol and Randolph have been for the Grizzlies, the team is still missing that player that can put the squad on his back for those crucial, final four or five minutes of the game which was evident as they were done in by Warriors guard Steph Curry in the Western Conference Semifinals this year. The Grizzlies continue to be one of the top defensive teams in the NBA as they were second in the league in points allowed during the regular season as Gasol’s length and ability to block shots makes it tough for opponents to score on the interior.

In Memphis, Gasol knows what he has which could entice him to stay there, but it will also be important for Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace this summer to show Gasol that he is capable of putting the players around Gasol that will allow this team to potentially win an NBA Championship. The next two-three months will go a long way in determining Gasol’s legacy as well as what we can expect from the Grizzlies franchise for the next five years.

Source: Basketball-reference.com

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By | 2015-05-16T22:15:22+00:00 May 16th, 2015|Categories: National Basketball Association|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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