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One of the more interesting stories in the NBA which seems to fly under the radar a bit involves Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol. The talented big man is related to Pau Gasol, his brother, but their history in the NBA featured a situation which was surely a bit awkward for the siblings.
During the 2008 NBA season, the Memphis Grizzlies opted to trade Pau to the Los Angeles Lakers in an eye-opening deal which would pair him with Kobe Bryant. The duo went on to win two NBA titles, but it’s what Pau was traded for which really stood out, as his brother Marc was in the package which the Lakers sent back to Memphis.
Per ESPN, the deal included the Grizzlies sending Pau Gasol and a 2010 second-round pick to Los Angeles in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and the rights to Marc Gasol. It also included 2008 and 2010 first-round picks. In short, the Grizzlies acquired Marc by sending Pau out of town, a player who was arguably their best player at the time.
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Pau Gasol’s Play With Grizzlies Prior to Trade for Marc
While both Gasol brothers have put together impressive NBA careers, Pau, who was selected No. 3 overall in the 2001 draft, was coming off back-to-back seasons in which he averaged 20-plus points per game. Over his seven seasons in Memphis, the now-38-year-old big man averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
Pau was dealt during the 2007-08 season, but the year prior he posted career-highs in a number of statistical categories at the time. This included points (20.8), rebounds (9.8) and blocks (2.1) per game. Following the trade, he went on to play seven seasons with the Lakers, averaging 17.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Marc Gasol Emerges as an All-Star After Trade
After Gasol was selected with the No. 48 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, he didn’t see any action with the Lakers. Although it had to be strange being included in a trade for your older brother, the now-34-year-old proceeded to put together a great start to his career with the Grizzlies.
After averaging 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds during the 2008-09 season, he posted a few up-and-down stat lines over the next few seasons. Marc proceeded to put it all together for good in 2011-12, though and was named to the NBA All-Star Game three times (2012, 2015, 2017). His best year from a scoring perspective with the franchise came in 2016-17 when Gasol posted marks of 19.5 points while adding 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
After spending the bulk of his career with the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol was traded to the Raptors during the 2018-19 season. While he’s seen his minutes jump around a bit down the stretch of the year, he’s made a strong impact during the team’s run to the NBA Finals.
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