Gasol: I may 'have to revisit' Grizzlies future if team doesn't improve
The Memphis Grizzlies' "Grindhouse" era appears over, but one of the team's franchise players hopes the team keeps getting better - or he might be open to leaving.
Center Marc Gasol told a radio station in Spain Wednesday that he may "have to revisit things" if the Grizzlies don't stay on a winning track.
"I'm very ambitious and I've wanted Memphis to be a great franchise," Gasol said in Catalan on Catalunya Radio, as translated by theScore's Carlo Campo and HoopsHype. "We've grown a lot ... but we have to keep growing. Growth must be maintained, if not we will have to revisit things."
Gasol can opt out of the final year of his contract after the 2018-19 season, when he will be 34. The seven-footer has played his entire nine-year career with the Grizzlies, after spending some of his teenage years in Memphis living with brother Pau.
The Grizzlies have made the playoffs in seven straight seasons, the third-best active streak in the NBA, but the departure of Zach Randolph and likely exit of Tony Allen at the very least ends the "Grit and Grind" age. The team also lost veteran Vince Carter in free agency and still has an outstanding question mark with restricted free agent JaMychal Green.
Gasol and point guard Mike Conley form the Grizzlies core, but both have fought their share of injuries in recent years. Gasol, a three-time All-Star, registered a career-high 19.5 points per game last season.