Marc Gasol has been the leader of the Grizzlies this season as his name has been on the mix to win the MVP trophy this season. By off-season, he will be an unrestricted free agent and as early as now, other teams have already expressed interest to the Spaniard. One of those teams is the Los Angeles Lakers. Will he consider signing with Kobe Bryant's team?
Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol sat down with the Los Angeles Newspaper Group and was asked several questions. (Via Insidelocal)
Gasol will become an unrestricted free-agent by the end of this season. He pointed out that he is not thinking long-term yet.
"I haven't weighed anything yet. Knowing that Arn [Tellum] (Gasol's agent) will handle pretty much the load of everything else, whenever July comes, it'll come. We'll sit down and have a human eye-to-eye conversation and we'll see what we're looking for and looking at for the next four or five years of my life with the team and different teams and my family. Whatever decision I make, it would be the best."
The center was also asked if he's considering the Los Angeles Lakers as a possible destination.
"I haven't even looked at it yet. Whenever the time comes, I'm not going to say no to anything or refuse anything. I'm not going to agree to anything. We're much in no man's land right now. I pretty much just have to wait until July."
Should he sign a new contract, he listed his goals and talked about where he sees his career when he reaches that point.
"You look at the game that's in front of you and how teams try to play you and try to practice ways to get out of that. If teams sag on you, you work on your shooting. If teams play close, you work on your driving. If teams double teams you, you try to find ways to get out of what teams do to you. When you're in the league long enough and you do different things, you're going to find every single way to get out of every situation. It's going to be hard to be a perfect player. But you try to be a complete basketball player as you can be. In the end, the game becomes easier.
As a basketball player, you always try to get better and think the game and see what they do and see how you can affect and how you can have a positive impact on your team. First you try to get in the rotation honestly. My goal was in our first training camp was to make the rotation and fight for the spot and earn my teammates respect. To the day, that's one of the best that's most important. To have your teammates' respect, it's never given. You have to earn your respect and earn your trust. That's why they trust you now. You have to earn that everyday, especially in this league when it's an emotional roller coaster when there's games where you do real well and games you don't do so well. You earn it everyday. That's why you use that when you don't do so well. They still trust you because they know what you stand for and know you have their back."
When he was praised of being the best center in the league right now due to his versatility as a center, Gasol humbly said that there is nothing special about his game.
"I honestly don't see anything that extraordinary about my game. I really don't. I just see myself as a basketball player and like to compete. I take challenges and enjoy challenges. I don't see anything that extraordinary for me. The game comes natural for me. There are things I must improve to get better."
Will Marc Gasol re-sign with the Grizzlies or go to Los Angeles Lakers? Stay tuned.