Raptors center Marc Gasol is thankful that the Grizzlies didn’t agree to his request not to be traded, relays Alex Madrid of Eurohoops. Gasol had been with Memphis for more than a decade before the team committed to rebuilding and sent him to Toronto in a deadline deal. The move led to Gasol collecting his first NBA championship ring.
“There have been few players that haven’t been traded over the years in the NBA,” Gasol said. “If it had been dependent on me, I wouldn’t have been traded. I always thought I could reverse the situation there (in Memphis) and bring the team to the top. But, thank God, they ignored me.”
Gasol will be part of the remaining foundation as the Raptors try to stay in contention without Kawhi Leonard. The 34-year-old will earn $25.6MM this season in the final year of his contract.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Jeremy Lin appears distraught about his free agency situation in a video tweeted by Daily Sports Dosage. “Free agency has been tough,” Lin says. “Because I feel like in some ways the NBA has kind of given up on me.” The Raptors signed Lin in February to provide backcourt depth, but he shot just 37% in 23 games and was barely used during the playoffs.
- French center Vincent Poirier could have made more money in Europe, but he wanted the challenge of playing in the NBA, tweets Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports. Poirier was the EuroLeague’s top rebounder last season, and the Celtics believe his athleticism will translate well.
- Former Celtics assistant Darren Erman will become head coach of the organization’s G League affiliate in Maine, according to Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Known as a defensive specialist, Erman has spent the past four seasons with the Pelicans.
The Big3 is about to get a whole lot smarter…
marc probably didnt think he would be traded to the ratpors . but i get he loves the grizz and all but that team wasnt going to go anywhere it was smart to move him . now look he has a ring and pau cant say he the only brother with one now
The Wolves could use Lin to run with the second unit. Would have to be a vet min though.
Exactly what I was thinking… esp with Teague injury history over the last 2 yrs. it’s probably the best spot for him if he wants to rebuild value.
Enjoy your ring Marc Gasol because I would guess Raptors will not get another one in 2020. Without Kawhi and Danny Green Toronto has two chances—slim and none.
And he’ll still have him ring so who cares
Lin has been injury prone the last 3 years. It’s tough b/c I actually think he could be valuable in a couple of different roles. Not sure where he fits off the top of my head, but he should have offers
Back in ATL makes sense. Right now they have Evan Turner as Trae’s backup. Lin played well there last year with no pressure. Don’t think he can contribute to a championship team anymore unfortunately.