Four More Years for the Grizzlies’ Gasol…

NBA star Marc Gasol has no plans to leave his Memphis home in the near future…

The 26-year-old Spanish ‘baller has signed a new $58 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies to stay with the team for the next four years.

Marc Gasol

“I didn’t see myself other than with this team, whether it was going to be for the long term or one year,” said the the 7-foot-1 center after signing his contract extension. “I definitely thought I would be here this year.”

There was a lot on speculation that Gasol would play out the final year of his Grizzlies contract and become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. And, team officials had vowed all along to match any contract offer from another team.

Now that Gasol is staying put, the Grizzlies will keep the core of the team that made the Western Conference semifinals last season intact.

Gasol helped lead the Grizzlies to their best season in franchise history. Memphis, which had never even won a playoff game before last season, defeated the Western Conference’s top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the opening round, then went to a deciding seventh game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“In the short three years here, Marc has advanced through the ranks and become one of the top centers, not just the top young centers, but the top centers overall in the NBA,” says Memphi general manager Chris Wallace.

Last season, Gasol averaged 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and a career-high 2.5 assists and 1.68 blocks in the regular season. But he averaged 15.0 points and 11.2 rebounds in the postseason.

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