3 Reasons the Memphis Grizzlies Did Not Lose February’s Trade with the Toronto Raptors

Room to Breathe Financially

When the Memphis Grizzlies traded Marc Gasol to the Toronto Raptors in February, it was a salary shedding of sorts. Marc has a player option in his arsenal for the final year of his contract, of which he will soon have to announce a decision. If he opts in, he will hit the Raptors for $25.6 million, which is a lot for a player on the decline.

The trade was clearly worth it for the Raptors, who just won the first NBA World Championship in their team’s history. WIthout Marc Gasol, they likely would not have made it out of the Eastern Conference Finals. It took every ounce of defense, leadership, and experience, and Marc was able to supply a large amount of all three items in his short time on the Raptors’ payroll.

While it is uncertain if Marc Gasol would have opted in had he remained a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, the trade enabled Memphis to end that possibility. They dumped one of the three max contracts on their roster, though they landed Jonas Valanciunas’ $17.6 player option in return.

Valanciunas ultimately decided to opt out of the final year of his contract, but it is not bad news for the Grizzlies, who desperately need Jonas’ scoring and rebounding abilities next season. The goal for him and Memphis is to work toward a long-term deal with less money involved. As Jonas wants to win badly, this idea will put cash in the center’s pockets while hitting the team’s salary cap less than if he would have immediately opted into the $17.6 million amount.

The trade of Marc Gasol continues to pay dividends for the Memphis Grizzlies, especially from a financial standpoint. With the forward thinking from Jonas Valanciunas, the deal keeps getting sweeter in the 901. This will really boost the franchise over the next few summers, assuming a deal is secured with Jonas once NBA Free Agency 2019 begins.