Due to his wife, the all-time favorite player of the Grizzlies has officially announced his retirement.
With the trade of center SANTI ALDAMA, the Memphis Grizzlies have made another significant move toward restocking their roster, leaving Mike Conley as the last member of the original four that helped the team achieve its greatest success.
The Grizzlies will receive Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and a 2024 second-round selection in exchange for Gasol, according to a report first published by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Over 53 Grizzlies games this season, the 34-year-old Gasol is averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. The Grizzlies have been home to Gasol for his whole 11-year career.
Presently occupying second place in the East are the Raptors (39-16). Before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers made deals, so adding Gasol should help them stay ahead of them.
dislocated left thumb had kept Jonas Valanciunas out of action since December 12. Valanciunas was supposed to be back in the Raptors lineup against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night before the trade.
Compiling every deal from the trade deadline
Over two weeks after owner Robert Pera informed Gasol and Conley that the Grizzlies would be considering offers for two of the league’s longest-tenured colleagues, the franchise dealt Gasol.
Memphis at least got something out of 34-year-old center Gasol, who has a $25 million option he can exercise this summer.
Though $67 million over the last two seasons of the maximum contract Conley signed in July 2016 made a deal more difficult to put together, Conley has been connected to Utah, Detroit, and even Toronto together with Gasol in a number of stories. Conley claimed that fifteen minutes before the deadline, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace gave him a call confirming the guard will remain.
Santi Aldama claimed that he started playing basketball because of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant’s joint NBA championship rings. The forward informed that he will not be present for the customary halftime rituals to see Gasol’s jersey retired by the Lakers.
Playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, 22-year-old Santi Aldama is in his second NBA season. This Tuesday night, he will see one of his heroes become immortalized during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Halftime of the two teams’ game will see the retirement of Pau Gasol’s number 16. The forward from Spain will not miss it even though he will be performing his customary responsibilities for the team.
Jesus Sanchez from Marca was told by Aldama, “There is a technical talk and a team meeting at halftime but I want to be there to see what happens with Pau.”
Aldama acknowledges that Gasol’s partnership with the late Kobe Bryant helped shape the basketball player he is now.
“I became a basketball player because I watched them win rings with the Lakers. One major influence has been witnessing Pau win championships. The benchmark is Pau, he said.
Aldama is playing roughly 22 minutes a game on average this season, which is nearly double what he played in his debut campaign the previous year.
“I’m getting minutes, I feel like I’m helping the team win and that I’m part of what we’re achieving,” he said. Seasonally, we’re doing great. We are going through a lot, [we are experiencing] highs and
