Grizzlies re-acquire Gasol but plan to waive him
Marc Gasol will return to Memphis via trade but fans shouldn’t expect to see him suit up one more time for the Grizzlies.
Gasol was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Grizzlies along with a 2024 second-round pick and cash, according to a league source with direct knowledge of the deal. The source was granted anonymity because the trade has not been finalized.
The Grizzlies will also waive Gasol, who’ll remain with his family in Spain, and send the Lakers the draft rights to Wang Zhelin, who was drafted by the team in 2016 but remained in China.
Gasol has not publicly announced any decisions on his future. If Memphis does becomes his final NBA stop, it brings his career full circle after the Lakers traded his draft rights in 2008 in a deal involving older brother Pau.
In 11 seasons with the Grizzlies, he helped the team earn seven consecutive playoff berths and became a threetime All-star. He won an NBA championship in 2019 after being traded to the Toronto Raptors.
The Lakers signed Gasol as a free agent in 2020 but he averaged careerlows in points (5.0) and rebounds (4.1) last season. His days with the team were numbered after the Lakers signed fellow centers Dwight Howard and Deandre Jordan as free agents this offseason.
As part of the trade, the Grizzlies will absorb Gasol’s $2.7 million salary in the final year of his two-year contract. They also now have two second-round picks in 2024 to go along with two first-round picks that year and potentially the firstround picks in next year’s draft.
To complete the trade, the Grizzlies must waive an additional player. They have 17 guaranteed contracts on their roster and will finalize a trade on Sept. 15, sending Juancho Hernangomez to the Boston Celtics for Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards and a 2026 second-round pick swap.