MattStark's Blog

Like Christopher Walken needing "More Cowbell", it sure looks like the Memphis Grizzlies have decided that they need more Gasol on their roster.

Reports from Spain surfaced last week that said the Grizz have already worked out a 3 year, $9 million dollar deal for Pau's littler brother Marc Gasol. And don't be mislead by the word little, Marc is little brother to Pau in name only, topping out at 7 foot 1, and tipping the scales at 270 pounds (give or take an lb. here or there).

His arrival would allow the Grizz to move Darko Milicic back to power forward, and hopefully fill the need that this team has had ever since they arrived in Memphis, which is a post presence that can rebound, and defend the paint.

For those of you who remember the chubby, rather immobile Marc from his playing days at Lausanne-- here is how he's described by DraftExpress.com

 The current leader in efficiency rating in the ACB League, Marc Gasol has built a pretty mistake-free style of game that helps him to emerge as a statistical standout. He’s long, very strong, nicely skilled, and very smart playing the game. A menace in the low post, he shows solid footwork, a decent jump-hook and a very nice turnaround jumper. Indeed his shooting range extends out to the three-point line, while he greatly combines his scoring power with his passing game, not really looking for definitive passes, but feeding his team’s offensive flow by distributing the ball from both the high and low post.

In spite of all that, his nice effort in the quarterfinal game wasn't enough for Akasvayu Girona to overcome an extremely solid Real Madrid team. Despite being regularly double-teamed, Gasol managed to amass 19 points, most of them coming off continuations towards the basket, and other off-ball stuff near the rim. The attention he delivered from Real Madrid defense didn't allow him to produce much in one-on-one plays in the low post, but he still connected on two thunderous one-handed dunks from there, one of them after capturing the baseline with an excellent spin move where he showed nice footspeed.

However, Gasol's great statistical production doesn't always necessarily reflect a dominating performance on the floor. Indeed, it didn't in this Copa. He wasn't really a go-to guy for Girona on the offensive end (mainly because of Real Madrid’s double-teaming defense, that's true), but especially he doesn't make a great impact on the defensive end. His limited mobility gets exploited in pick-and-roll situations that the opponents throw at him; he's not a great intimidator, he allows smaller opponents to shoot over him; and given his superb size, he's not the best rebounder around.

Still, Pau's younger brother is one of the most promising centers in Europe, and probably an underrated piece -by the American media- in the recent blockbuster trade that involved both brothers. Anyway, he doesn't seem to fit too well with the current Memphis Grizzlies game style, but he might be a nice asset to work in a trade in the near future.

So whaddya think?

Is this a good signing (assuming it happens) or due to a less than satisfying relationship with Pau, are you all Gasol-ed out?