Memphis Grizzlies deem Marc Gasol ‘untouchable,’ but for how long?

A report came out yesterday that the Memphis Grizzlies will keep Marc Gasol and Mike Conley out of trade talks. How long will their claim last?

Since the start of the offseason, Marc Gasol has been linked to the Boston Celtics for their next big move. It’s easy to say that too. They had just gotten Gordon Hayward to link up with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford. Throwing in Marc Gasol and shifting Al Horford to his natural position — power forward. However, the Kyrie Irving trade might kill those talks.

Or, the Memphis Grizzlies could go ahead and kill the trade murmurs by themselves.

According to CBS Sports’ Matt Moore, the Memphis Grizzlies have made Marc Gasol and Mike Conley ‘untouchable’ in trade talks:

"For Memphis, the concern is beyond simple wins and losses, however. For a small market, the Grizzlies may not have a center of Gasol’s quality for literally decades. Other teams can make moves with an idea toward mobility and flexibility. A team like Memphis has to pursue discipline in retaining its stars because of the challenges the team faces in obtaining big-name upgrades. The Grizzlies’ best path toward contention isn’t to trade Gasol, even for a high-value draft pick. The outcomes in that scenario not only carry a wide variance, but most of the outcomes are worse than staying the course in both the short- and long-term future."

The case for not trading Marc Gasol is legitimate. When the Grizzlies re-signed Conley and Gasol, it wasn’t to continue the “Core Four.” It was to build around those two stars — and Chandler Parsons, different topic though — for the future. Why would the Memphis Grizzlies ruin that concept before the first post-ZBo season ever even started?

They aren’t that far from both missing and making the playoffs. Moore mentions that the Grizzlies were a half-game behind Utah for the fourth seed on March 1st. If it weren’t for that five-game skid at the beginning of the month, things could be a lot different.

Even then, a healthy Parsons, Tyreke Evans and Mario Chalmers can change the narrative for Memphis and their playoff hopes. Those three — even at 70-80 percent of their peak — combined with Conley and Gasol should ensure a playoff spot.

Moore also discusses the leverage with the Kyrie Irving and Paul George deals. Granted, Gasol has more years on his deal than the two, but what will a team offer for an aging center?

Boston won’t be giving up Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or the Lakers/Sacramento pick for an aging center when they already have one older big man. Phoenix wouldn’t be giving up an elusive asset for a big man who doesn’t match their core’s timeline. Cleveland could be an interesting destination, but will they give up anything worth trading for (Brooklyn pick or Kevin Love)?

The Grizzlies will be foolish for trading Marc Gasol, but when does it start making sense?

When trade talks could arise

Matt Moore broke down multiple scenarios where the trade talks could become legitimate:

"Memphis struggles out of the gate, and we’re talking “10-or-more games under-.500 by January 1.”Gasol clashes with coach David Fizdale; their relationship has not been thick as thieves by all accounts.The Grizzlies’ offseason additions of Tyreke Evans and Ben McLemore both completely flame out.The Grizzlies’ youngsters (Wayne Selden, Wade Baldwin IV, Deyonta Davis) all fail to show promise.Gasol himself demands out, which would be a highly out-of-character move by all accounts."

The majority of those scenarios are possible when considering a Marc Gasol trade. Lack of production from offseason acquisitions and youngsters should be more associated with the Grizzlies being “10-or-more games under-.500 by January 1.”

Marc hasn’t outright demanded a trade, but it’s not hard to speculate — given his recent remarks. In an interview with a alacarta, Gasol could’ve hinted at his future with the Grizzlies:

"I’m very ambitious and I’ve wanted Memphis to be a great franchise. We’ve grown a lot the last 6-7 years, but we have to keep growing. If this is not lined up, maybe we may have to revisit things."

Then he said this in an interview with Cadena SER:

"“We’re a family, it’s a reality. We overcome bad moments, we have mentors and leaders, such as Pau [Gasol] and [Juan Carlos] Navarro who are also there to give pause and tranquility. The atmosphere is very different from Memphis. I hope we can win a ring, we gotta be very consistent and disciplined.”"

Comments like these ones can fire up trade talks, especially if they fall out of the playoff picture.

If Gasol and Fizdale clash and the season looks rough, a trade looks likely. In fact, it’ll become inevitable. What kinds of returns would be necessary though?

Boston could try one more enticing package — Marcus Smart and the Memphis and Clippers’ picks for Gasol. However, they may hold out for Anthony Davis.

Cleveland could decide to dangle the elusive Brooklyn pick but also bait them into taking on Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert’s big deals. It may not seem like enough for the Grizzlies to bite, but Shump has two-way, positional versatility and only has one year left on his deal. Thompson is one of the best rebounders in the league, which could help the Grizzlies as they might be one of the worst rebounding teams next season. Then, the Brooklyn pick could help the Grizzlies land two top-10 picks in next year’s draft — which would help them find cornerstones for their rebuild.

Teams on the edge of legitimate like Washington, Milwaukee or Toronto could call to see what it might take to land Gasol. Maybe, if the Lakers only land one star next summer, they could dangle Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson for the Spaniard.

Finding an ideal trade package is hard, but the Grizzlies shouldn’t be too concerned.

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Big picture

Bottomline, trading Marc Gasol shouldn’t be on the Grizzlies’ minds at the moment. They possess a legitimate top-3 center who can defend the rim at an elite level, pass way better than most big men in the league, can shoot the 3-ball at a near-40 percent clip and score 20 points a night.

That’s a rarity!

If Marc Gasol was playing in a bigger market, the media would be quick to call him a future Hall of Famer.

Right now, the top priority should be building a legitimate playoff team around Mike Conley and Marc Gasol. It’s surely possible. They have pieces that can help them make it.

However, if it collapses, the Grizzlies might need to think about some trades.