Pau Gasol is definitely his brother’s keeper.
On Sunday, the San Antonio Spurs big man spoke on the situation of younger brother Marc, who is having a difficult year on the lowly Memphis Grizzlies.
“Of course, he’s upset. He should be upset,” said Pau, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. “Any player who competes and cares would be upset. That’s a good sign from a player who cares and is a leader. He’s putting his body on the line and not quitting.
“What I told him is, ‘Do your best. Keep competing.’ That’s the only thing you can control,” Pau added. “You can’t control that one of your best players, Mike Conley, is out for the year. You can’t control that [Chandler] Parsons, one of your biggest signings, has an [injury] issue and so forth. All you can control is your effort, your work ethic, your mindset going into games.”
The Grizzlies are currently riding a 13-game losing streak and now have the worst record in the entire league at 18-44. Meanwhile Marc, who just turned 33 years old, is indeed the last man standing of sorts on the team and is putting up 17.8 points per game on a career-low 41.3 percent shooting.
Of course, Pau used to be in a similar situation himself — he was with the Grizzlies for his first seven career seasons and requested a trade in his late 20s, netting him a move to the Los Angeles Lakers and an eventual two championship rings. As for Marc, he has spent his entire ten-year career in Memphis and is much less likely to win a title anywhere now given his age.
Marc, in fairness, continues to say that he will not ask for a trade from the Grizzlies despite being under contract for at least another season after this one. But sometimes, he just can’t help but let his frustration show, and his older brother definitely seems to sense it.
