NBA Trade Rumors: Who Will Get Marc Gasol? Pistons, Kings Showing Interest

The “grit and grind” era of the Memphis Grizzlies is coming to an end. After weeks of rumors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Memphis was looking to trade franchise cornerstones Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.

The bulk of the interest so far has been in Gasol, according to The Ringer. Kevin O’Connor reported on Monday that the 33-year-old center is attracting interest from both the Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings. No deal is in place yet, but the NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 7, so one could come within the next two weeks.

One thing that could make a deal for Gasol difficult is Chandler Parsons. The Grizzlies infamously signed Parsons to a $94 million contract in 2016 that he has not lived up to due to injuries. Both his active and dead cap hits are large, but O’Connor said the Grizzlies want to include Parsons in any trade package to offload the contract onto someone else.

There is not much optimism for a Conley deal, according to The Athletic. The Utah Jazz reportedly asked about his services, but his age, injury history and contract might make him an unappealing trade target. Conley has a cap hit of $32 million next year.

Gasol is averaging 15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this year. A symbolic end to the Gasol and Conley era happened on Saturday night, when the center hit a game-clinching three point shot against the Indiana Pacers. The two Grizzlies greats embraced afterward in a clip that circulated online.

The Grizzlies are likely looking to offload Gasol and Conley so they can start rebuilding for the future sooner rather than later. At 20-30, Memphis is in 14th place in the Western Conference and is highly unlikely to make the playoffs.

The team will likely build around rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. The 19-year-old lottery pick has shown promise for the Grizzlies, averaging 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds on just 25.8 minutes per game. He has been a serviceable shooter, draining 51.5 percent of his shots from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.