Marc Gasol, Mike Conley Won't Be Traded, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace Says

Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace remained adamant Wednesday that he has no plans to trade point guard Mike Conley or center Marc Gasol following head coach David Fizdale's ouster.

"We have no intention to trade Marc," Wallace told ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "We never seriously considered that at all. We never placed any calls to any teams in that regard. So that's not happening.

"It's not just Marc that this whole equation is about. It's also Mike Conley when he comes back. We've got two guys among the elite in the league at their respective positions that are still very much in their window with an awful lot of tread left on their tires."

Wallace's comments come two days after a league executive told Sporting News' Sean Deveney he thought Gasol was available for the right price.

"I don't think they're done making changes," the executive said. "They could still move Gasol, they could still go into a rebuilding situation, but it would be harder if Gasol was saying he wants out. They have had plenty of offers for Gasol, and they have a couple of months to sort out whether they pull the trigger. But don't be surprised if they do, even after this."

Should the Grizzlies change their stance and progress to the point that they're willing to field offers for their two franchise centerpieces, it would likely be hard to find a bevy of viable proposals given their gargantuan cap figures.

Gasol, 32, is due $24.1 million next season and owns a $25.6 million player option for the 2019-20 campaign that will be hard to turn down when he's approaching 35 years old.

Conley, meanwhile, is in just the second season of a mammoth five-year, $152 million contract that is scheduled to pay out $97.5 million over the final three years.

"We're full speed ahead," Wallace said. "We've been in the playoffs seven years in a row. We've got a team when fully healthy and we get everything together is more athletic, more versatile and more potent offensively than we've had for a number of years."

The issue for the Grizzlies—who have dropped nine straight following Wednesday's 104-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs—is that they're currently battling a rash of injuries and have subsequently been dogged by inconsistencies.

Now 7-13, the Grizzlies rank 23rd in offensive efficiency and 21st overall in net rating with a mark of minus-1.4 points per 100 possessions.

Making matters worse is that it's likely going to be mid-December by the time Memphis has a chance to operate at full strength.

While swingman Chandler Parsons (knee soreness) is expected back within the next few games, according to a medical update released Wednesday, Conley won't return for another two to three weeks as he continues to battle left Achilles soreness.

"Our expectation always is to be a playoff team and have a chance to do some things when we get in there," Wallace said. "We're behind in the standings right now, but it's a long way to go. When we get our guys back, I think we'll surge."

Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.com. Stats courtesy of NBA.com.