Marc Gasol Is “Officially” Of Memphis

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We all saw the video (and if you didn’t you can catch it here http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/marc-gasol-of-memphis-150629). It captured exactly how important Marc Gasol is to not only the Memphis Grizzlies but to city of Memphis as well. With free agency approaching I was watching to see what the Grizzlies would do to potentially fill the need for a consistent perimeter shooter. (I’d like to add here that turning Janis Timma into Matt Barnes was magic on the part of our front office. I don’t know if I should give credit to “The Machine” or just good ‘ole Chris Wallace pulling a Miracle Max but Bravo! on that one.) The consensus on Kosta Koufos was that he would not be suiting up in Beale Street Blue next season. (With his commitment to the Kings on Saturday we know now this is the case.) Nick Calathes’ had been offered a qualifying contract and would most likely be coming back. However, all of that seemed negligible in the wake of the fact that our All-Star, our Defensive Player of the Year was to become an unrestricted free agent. I hope the rest of you breathed the same sigh of relief I did when I woke up Tuesday morning and read this tweet.

Now, this tweet didn’t guarantee that Marc would sign with the Grizzlies. It just meant that he wasn’t interested in any other teams. Yet. I don’t know when Chris Wallace was on the phone with Marc’s agent and frankly I don’t care. What I do care about is after six days Grizzlies fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. This tweet didn’t just make my day, it made my week. Ok, you got me, it made my next 4 years. (Due to a reported player option in the contract after year 4.)

Look, I believed Marc was coming back. I believed that the fact that we didn’t hear something right away had nothing to do with Marc going anywhere. That said, it sure feels nice to know that he is. It feels even better to know that not only is he returning next season but that this team has the opportunity to build around him. The Memphis Grizzlies have long needed a true All-Star and leader. As a small market team it has been a long time coming that they could offer that All-Star a max contract and still keep a supporting cast intact that genuinely gives them a chance to win. Now we can all have some sweet Max-Contract-Marc dreams and put the No-More-Marc nightmares to rest.

Here’s the part where I have to give you the “small print”. Everything is still just verbal at this point. It won’t be until July 9, when the free agency moratorium ends, that the theoretical pen will hit the paper and Marc Gasol will sign a new contract.

Tabitha Smith
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