NBA Trade Deadline 2018: The 20 best players available

3. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

In mid-December, ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe reported the Grizzlies were “unlikely” to trade Marc Gasol “even as the losses mount.”

“That seems stubborn,” he wrote, “and there is almost certainly a scenario — perhaps Conley getting reinjured, or taking longer than expected to return — where Memphis tests the market. But even in that doomsday sequence, the Grizzlies may even prefer to hold their stars out here and there in some selective tankery, nab a high draft pick, and reload for another run at 45-plus wins.”

It appears as though the Grizzlies have yet to reach that breaking point, as Wojnarowski reported, “Teams are curious to study Memphis’ plans” with Gasol, “but so far, the Grizzlies say they’re planning to keep him.”

The three-time All-Star and 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year is under contract through 2018-19, so the Grizzlies aren’t under immediate pressure to trade their franchise center. Then again, their leverage will progressively decrease the closer he gets to free agency, so opting to stand pat at the trade deadline could cost them a beaucoup haul if they change direction this offseason or sometime prior to next February.

The soon-to-be 33-year-old Gasol is posting a career-low shooting efficiency and clashed with former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, which may give suitors pause as they cobble together trade offers for him. But if Memphis does receive a knock-your-socks-off offer — perhaps the Cleveland Cavaliers express willingness to part with the Brooklyn Nets’ unprotected 2018 first-round pick? — the Grit-‘n’-Grind era could officially come to an end by Feb. 8.

Next: 2. DeMarcus Cousins