No NBA team is struggling more than the Memphis Grizzlies, but All-Star center and franchise legend Marc Gasol isn’t looking for an exit right now.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Gasol said he has a responsibility to the city and will never quit on the organization — not even if the Grizzlies are 30 games below .500.
“I would want to see how we got there — what the process is. But as long as [owner] Robert [Pera] wants me here, my teammates want me here, they think I’m part of the solution — and not part of the problem — that’s all I need.”
Gasol added that if the organization approached him with a trade, he’d accept it because “I would do anything for this franchise.”
Those stands could be tested this season.
Memphis, which fired head coach David Fizdale in November, holds an 8-19 record. The Grizzlies have dropped 15 of their last 16 games, including four straight since snapping an 11-game skid.
Only the Dallas Mavericks have a worse record in the Western Conference, and it’s by one loss (8-20).
The 32-year-old has played a leading role in guiding Memphis to seven consecutive playoff appearances. Barring a torrid stretch when Mike Conley returns from injury, however, that streak will end in 2017-18.
And if continued losing sours the team, it may decide to dangle Gasol and accept a rebuild rather than hold out for hopes of a bounce-back campaign next year.
Gasol says he won’t quit on the Grizzlies, but the worst-case scenario — that they move on from him — is slowly emerging as a real possibility.