Memphis Signs Spanish Centre Marc Gasol, Younger Brother of All-star Pau

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed on Spanish center Marc Gasol, the 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player and younger brother of all-star and former Grizzlies’ career leading scorer Pau Gasol.

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed on Spanish center Marc Gasol, the Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced on Wednesday. The 2008 ACB Most Valuable Player is the younger brother of former Memphis Grizzlies player and all-star Pau Gasol, who was traded as piece of the deal to the Los Angeles Lakers in February.

“The Grizzlies are pleased to be adding Marc Gasol to our team,” Wallace said. “He is a very dedicated player who made major progress over the past several years and is coming off a MVP season in the Spanish ACB League, which is the premier national league in Europe.”

“Marc is a very skilled centre in terms of his shooting and passing, possesses outstanding toughness, and is a winning, team-oriented player,” stated Wallace. “He has done a remarkable job transforming his body. Marc is one of the premier players in Europe.”

Along with Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies have also obtained guard Jarvis Crittenton, forward Kwame Brown, guard Aaron McKie, No. 3 Pick guard O.J. Mayo, and forward Darrell Arthur who was in exchange for Donte Green, the 28th-overall pick.

Marc, who spent the past five seasons in the Spanish ACB League and was the MVP last season, played two seasons of high school basketball in Memphis while his older brother, Pau, became the Grizzlies’ career leading scorer.

Marc will be the third Spaniard to play for the Grizzlies, joining Pau (2001-08) and Juan Carlos Navarro (2007-08).

Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said he thinks Gasol has had a chance to mature and he intends to use Gasol in the post.

“He’ll have to do all the things we count on in the NBA for centres. Battle and rebound, and we also think he can be a great quarterback inside. As Chris mentioned, he’s a very good passer and he can score. I think that’s something every NBA team would like to have. We’re going to be very patient with his progress,” Iavaroni said.