Marc Gasol on Grizzlies' Struggles: 'This Is the NBA, Not the G League'

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol expressed frustration with his team's recent play Wednesday, saying this is "not the G League."      

"It's not about somebody playing well or getting your reps or developing players because we have a league for that," Gasol said, via the Commercial Appeal. "We have a league and a team here in Memphis to develop guys. ... This is the NBA, not the G League."    

The Grizzlies came into Wednesday losers of 10 straight games and dropped their 11th against the Phoenix Suns later in the evening.

Gasol scored 22 points and added 13 rebounds but made just seven of his 21 shot attempts. He was held out of Saturday night's loss to the Miami Heat as a coach's decision and averaged his fewest minutes per game of the 2017-18 season in February.

Grizzlies interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said there have been times Gasol has shown his frustration, per Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports: 

"He has his moments. But one of the things he has done is he's embraced the young guys. You watch him put his arm around guys, teaching guys, working with guys. And then he has started to work on his game and do different things that will help him moving forward as a player. He's human, and those moments [of frustration] do come up, but he's spent more time focusing on growth than he has on the situation that we are in."

Memphis will be snapping a seven-season playoff streak this campaign and has been on a downward trend. The team was ousted in the first round each of the last two postseasons. Injuries to Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and others have made it near-impossible for the Grizzlies to compete, and they've looked listless for most of the year.

These types of comments from Gasol will no doubt stoke trade rumors, though the Grizzlies rebuffed any offers for the center before the Feb. 8 deadline, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. At age 33, Gasol isn't in the market to sit through a rebuild, and there is no real path to contention for Memphis at this point.

Given the status of the franchise, it may be time for both sides to sit down and have a discussion this summer.