Pau Gasol’s differing legacies with the Lakers, Grizzlies

Endeared by virtually every Lakers fan, Pau Gasol is almost unanimously seen as one of the franchise greats of the modern generation. But the set of circumstances that led to him becoming a Laker means he isn’t quite as beloved by Grizzlies fans despite being one of their greatest players ever as well.

On today’s episode of Can U Dig It, a podcast by the Silver Screen & Roll network, I welcome guest Keith Parish of both the Fastbreak Breakfast and Grits and Grinds podcasts to discuss Pau Gasol’s jersey retirement. Interestingly, the Lakers will retire his jersey in a game against the Grizzlies, which could be seen as a nice sentimental touch or a bit of rubbing Memphis’ nose in it.

That leads to a discussion of Gasol’s career with the Grizzlies where he helped bring the franchise notoriety they had previously lacked. His exit, though, left a sour taste in the mouths of fans even if not entirely at the fault of Gasol himself. Because of that, a Gasol jersey will one day hang in the rafters for the Grizzlies, but it will likely not be Pau’s.

We then shift to modern-day Lakers-Grizzlies discussions, including the feisty match-ups of last season. Amidst a season full of them, the Lakers had many frustrating losses to the Grizzlies for a number of reasons.

We wrap up the show by discussing the NBA’s new rivalry week that includes both Memphis and the Lakers as well as the outlook for the Grizzlies this season.

You can listen to all that and more on our latest episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude. You can follow Raj on Twitter at @RajChipalu. And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.