Beno Udrih Says The Knicks Won’t Get Marc Gasol Because He ‘Doesn’t Like Drama’

Grizzlies center and former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol will enter free agency this summer as one of the hottest commodities on the open market. Although Gasol has indicated he’ll listen to all offers before making his decision, it’s hard to fathom him leaving Memphis. He went to high school at Lausanne while his brother Pau was playing for the Grizzlies, and he’s spent his entire NBA career in Memphis. He has extremely close ties to the city and his teammates, basically.

It bears mentioning that stranger things have certainly happened in free agency than Gasol choosing to sign elsewhere in July, and the type of offers he’ll receive will surely turn his head at the very least.

The Knicks, for instance, will have about $26 million in cap space going into next season, and it’s broadly known that Phil Jackson covets Gasol. However, when Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling asked teammate Beno Udrih about that possibility, the former Knick seized the opportunity to throw a little shade at his old team:

Udrih had a tumultuous stint in New York during the Mike Woodson era, which eventually ended with him requesting a trade. He spent most of his time there buried at the end of the bench and/or in Woodson’s dog house, so it isn’t terribly surprising that he still has an ax to grind with the franchise.

The 32 year-old resurrected his career in Memphis last year when backup point guard Nick Calathes was suspended for the playoffs after testing positive for the banned substance Tamoxifen, which is a masking agent that is sometimes used congruently with steroids but itself is not a performance enhancing drug. Udrih stepped up and became a key player off the bench for the Grizzlies, a role that has carried over into this season and the playoffs. His contributions have been particularly important in the wake of Mike Conley’s injury, which has forced him to miss three straight games.

Udrih isn’t the only ex-Knick to take a shot at his former team. Chauncey Billups, who was traded to New York as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal, said recently, in the politest possible way, that his good buddy ‘Melo simply isn’t a leader.

As a team captain, Gasol is one of the most vocal leaders of this Grizzlies squad, and although he might appear laid back, make no mistake that he is a fierce competitor whose been known to Hulk out from time to time.

The Grizzlies currently trail the Warriors 0-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals and Game 2 is set for Tuesday in Oakland. Memphis has other things to worry about for now than Gasol’s impending free agency, obviously, and doesn’t appear too concerned at the prospect of him leaving anyway.

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