The rumors of Marc Gasol going to the Toronto Raptors headlined a majority of the week for the NBA Trade Deadline, but they were not true until late Thursday. At first, Kyle Lowry was a part of this deal, going the other way to Memphis, but in the end, he is still a member of the Raptors. Instead, Gasol did end up with the Raptors before Thursday's 3:00pm EST. deadline, getting done in a trade that saw Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and a 2024 second-round draft pick go the Grizzlies. The one surprise on the Memphis side of things was that Mike Conley stayed put, this after his name was mentioned in trade talks, including in a package with Gasol to Toronto.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was a fan of the trade, saying that Gasol will give the Raptors "a settling force" come playoff time. To help make room on the roster for their newest big man, the Raptors went on to trade Greg Monroe to the Brooklyn Nets for a 2021 second-round draft pick and cash considerations. Monroe went on to be waived by the Nets, this after averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game in his lone season with Toronto.
The 34-year-old Gasol is averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a career-high 4.7 assists this season, with the latest statistic ranking second in the NBA among centers, only behind Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. He leaves Memphis as the Grizzlies' all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goals made. He had spent 11 seasons with the Grizzlies, which was tied with Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fourth-longest tenure with one franchise. Conley is third on that list at 12 seasons, and that run will continue as the trade deadline came and went on Thursday.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was a fan of the trade, saying that Gasol will give the Raptors "a settling force" come playoff time. To help make room on the roster for their newest big man, the Raptors went on to trade Greg Monroe to the Brooklyn Nets for a 2021 second-round draft pick and cash considerations. Monroe went on to be waived by the Nets, this after averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game in his lone season with Toronto.
The 34-year-old Gasol is averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and a career-high 4.7 assists this season, with the latest statistic ranking second in the NBA among centers, only behind Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. He leaves Memphis as the Grizzlies' all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goals made. He had spent 11 seasons with the Grizzlies, which was tied with Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fourth-longest tenure with one franchise. Conley is third on that list at 12 seasons, and that run will continue as the trade deadline came and went on Thursday.
