Marc Gasol Upset After Fourth-Quarter Benching

The Grizzlies’ struggles continued on Sunday, with the team dropping its eighth straight game and falling to 7-12 on the season. Three-time All-Star Marc Gasol is Memphis’ veteran leader with Mike Conley sidelined, but Gasol didn’t see the court during the fourth quarter of the club’s home loss to the Nets on Sunday, leaving him upset and confused, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.

As Tillery details, head coach David Fizdale decided to keep rolling with a lineup that had cut a 19-point deficit to just five points, indicating later that he wasn’t trying to send a message to his veteran center. But Gasol said after the game that he wasn’t given an explanation by the coaching staff, and called it an “awkward situation.”

“I don’t like it one bit,” Gasol told reporters after the game. “I’m more (angry) than I can show, and frustrated. But for the benefit of the team, I’ve got to show good leadership and continue to do my job.

“If I start venting, that would be counterproductive,” Gasol added. “But at the end of the day, I’m as competitive as anybody. I hate not playing. That’s what I value most. If I’m not out there, I’m not valued. I’m sure they knew that would hurt me the most.”

Gasol is hardly the first star to be benched in the fourth quarter when a different lineup has some success, but this is still a situation worth monitoring closely. Coming into the season, Gasol was viewed as a player who could become a trade candidate if Memphis struggled in the first half. The Grizzlies have given no indication that they’d consider moving the 32-year-old, and even at 7-12, they’re only 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. Still, if the club continues to lose and there’s tension between Gasol and the coaching staff, the idea of a trade becomes more viable.

Following the 2017/18 season, Gasol has one more guaranteed year on his contract, then a player option for 2019/20. He and Conley are considered the core players Memphis is building around, though Gasol suggested on Sunday night that he doesn’t believe the team would have done to Conley what it did to him.

“You don’t put Mike back in? I’m sure they wouldn’t do it to Mike,” Gasol said. “I don’t know. It’s just the way it is. You have to deal with it. But I’m not just going to lay down and take it. … You try to prove them wrong. I should be playing in the fourth quarter. I think I’ve proven that different times. I’m not just going to accept not playing in the fourth quarter and be happy with it. That’s not my character.”

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