Lakers: Marc Gasol Returns to Spain to Play For Girona

Gasol will keep his career going, but not in the NBA.

The Lakers traded Marc Gasol to the Memphis Grizzlies this past September. The move was largely based around salary cap space as Los Angeles saved over $10 million in potential luxury tax fees with the move. But there was also just not a spot for Gasol on the roster with so many names coming in. 

So the Lakers sent Gasol back to the Grizzlies along with a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for the draft rights to Wang Zhelin. The expectation was that Gasol could retire or go on to play in Spain. 

And it turns out that is exactly what Gasol is doing. He announced this week that he would be returning to Spain to play for Girona of LEB Oro, the second division of Spanish basketball. Gasol is the owner and founder of the Girona team. 

The Grizzlies waived Gasol after he was traded from the Lakers. He originally came to Memphis as part of the trade that sent his brother Pau to the Lakers. That netted Los Angeles two NBA Championships with Pau playing alongside Kobe Bryant. 

When Marc came back to the Lakers, he played more of a bench role and saw his playing time dwindle to just 19 minutes per game. In that time, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game.