Grizzlies Notes: Gasol, Fizdale, Pera

Marc Gasol acknowledged this week that his relationship with former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale was rocky, and confirmed that he has spoken to Grizzlies owner Robert Pera since Sunday. However, Gasol says that conversation with Pera happened after team management had made its decision to fire Fizdale, as Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details.

“They called me after the decision was made to let me know the direction they were going,” Gasol said. The veteran center also dismissed the idea that he’s a “coach killer,” indicating that he never asked the Grizzlies to let go of Fizdale.

“I never try to accomplish anything like that,” Gasol said. “I always have (the coach’s) back… It’s shocking but it’s the nature of this business. Next time, it might be me. Next time it might be somebody else. The franchise is bigger than any player or coach. We’ve all got to be ready (for change).”

Here’s more from out of Memphis:

• Two people with knowledge of the situation tell Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that there was “little to no communication” between Fizdale and Gasol for the better part of 10 months. While Sunday’s fourth-quarter benching of Gasol was a tipping point, the situation had been bad for quite some time, per the USA Today duo.
• In an in-depth and interesting piece for The Commercial Appeal, Chris Herrington takes a closer look at what the Fizdale firing says about Fizdale, Gasol, Memphis’ front office, team ownership, and more.
• Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders explores whether it makes more sense for the Grizzlies to fully rebuild their roster or to simply retool it.
• After a couple off-days, the Grizzlies will return to action on Wednesday night in San Antonio, as the team looks to snap its eight-game losing streak. It will be J.B. Bickerstaff‘s first game as Memphis’ interim head coach.