<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>When Pau Gasol was last spotted in FedExForum, he was sprinting from an elevator, past the practice court to an exit door that led to a parking garage. Oblivious at the time, Gasol appeared on the move in more ways than one. By the end of the day, the 7-footer was headed to one of the NBA's most storied franchises. Gasol left in his dust a struggling one that insisted Friday its decision to abruptly trade the franchise player will make it better in the long run. With the chance to create significant room under the salary cap and acquire first-round draft picks, the Grizzlies shipped Gasol and a 2010 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis (13-33) received forward/center Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton (19th pick in 2007 draft), guard Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol (Pau's brother), two first-round draft picks and cash considerations. The Griz will own the Lakers' 2008 pick unless it's in the top three. Memphis also received Los Angeles' 2010 pick unless it's in the top six. The draft protection for both picks last five years. McKie agreed to a sign-and-trade in order to make the deal work financially under the collective bargaining agreement. Returning to championship contention is what the deal was about for the Lakers. Griz general manager Chris Wallace didn't try to spin the transaction any other way for his squad: It's about financial flexibility and future talent. Period. Don't expect Brown to be a part of the Grizzlies' plans once his contract -- paying $9 million -- expires after this season. Brown, 25, is widely considered a bust despite being selected No. 1 overall in the 2001 draft. Gasol, who earns $13.7 million this season, has three years remaining on his deal. <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"> "Brown was the highest expiring contract we could find in the league," Wallace said. "We're open-minded. We'll see what happens but obviously the attractive nature was the expiring contract."</span> Not long ago, Wallace publicly stated that he wasn't interested in receiving expiring contracts for Gasol, 27, who has been the subject of trade speculation for the past two seasons. But Wallace worked the phones for several weeks. A deal for Gasol intensified in the past week, and the teams agreed in principle Thursday night at about 11:30 p.m. The Grizzlies were unsuccessful in trying to acquire a star. Wallace said he wasn't compelled to delay trading Gasol until closer to the Feb. 21 trade deadline in hopes of getting a richer deal. "I just didn't see how it would get better than this over the next few weeks," said Wallace, who insisted the Griz will remain active until the trade deadline. Having tried to win while developing younger talent, the Griz seem to be entering a full-blown rebuilding phase with this move. "I hate to use that 'R' word," Wallace said. "But I think I'm a realist. We're a 13-win team so don't kid yourself. Don't sugarcoat it. We've got some interesting pieces but we're a 13-win team. In that situation you've got to look to make moves. ... It's time to try a new course. I've changed directions about this." Griz coach Marc Iavaroni viewed the Gasol trade as a calculated risk. "It's by far the hardest thing I had to do since becoming a head coach," Iavaroni said. "Pau is a guy, who when I took this job wanted to become close with and just grow with as a coach. That's why it's so difficult. ... But once I started understanding that part of this head coaching thing is planning for the future, I knew that for us to create something here that will give us flexibility we had to make a move that in the short term doesn't look good but in the long-term will help us." Gasol didn't return phone messages left by The Commercial Appeal. He was traveling to Los Angeles to take a physical. The Griz hope to have Brown, McKie and Crittenton join them in time for their game tonight against the Utah Jazz even if they don't play. Gasol, meanwhile, could be in a Laker uniform as soon as Sunday when the Lakers play at Washington. "I think he's very versatile, a high basketball IQ, can pass, can shoot, length, catch, finish, he's extremely talented," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said about Gasol. "It's a matter of us just gelling now. It's just putting it together. We've got a great bench, a lot of length, a lot of versatility. Now it's time to walk the walk. ... I think it shows a great deal of commitment from the organization and I think it's a big step." Trading Gasol is arguably the second most significant transaction in franchise's history since it moved to Memphis. Aside from the Gasol trade, the Griz also hired Jerry West, who engineered three consecutive playoff appearances. Wallace insisted that while the deal primarily had to do with finances, it wasn't designed to make the Grizzlies more attractive for a potential suitor to buy the team. "I wasn't given that directive," Wallace said when asked if he needed to slice payroll to prepare for a sale. "This is a deal that makes sense financially and makes sense long term to give us assets." Fans fell out of love with Gasol and routinely booed him for spotty play after his trade request last season. But he was the only All-Star in franchise history (2006) and is the Grizzlies' all-time leader in 12 statistical categories. Griz brass had no illusions that he will be easily replaced. "I'm not putting us off 4-5 years," Wallace said. "I'm looking at a timetable of 2-3 years when we'll have the roster where we want it."</div> Source: Memphis CA
