Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace made this much clear in Tuesday’s news conference: star center Marc Gasol was no “coach killer” and had nothing to do with David Fizdale being fired on Monday. After Tuesday’s practice, Gasol himself explained his side of the story — a vital piece of things considering Gasol was benched in Sunday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Gasol did acknowledge to reporters that he had a frosty relationship with Fizdale, but said asking for a coach to be fired is not in his character. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal has more on Gasol’s comments and points out in his piece that the star has clashed with every Griz coach he’s player for:
“Nobody likes to see a coaching change during the season,” Gasol said. “I was a little bit shocked by it.”
Gasol said he isn’t concerned about the timing of Fizdale’s firing a day after the center’s 15-minute postgame spiel expressing displeasure about the benching.
“There’s nothing I can do about that,” Gasol said. “All I can do is win, own my part and accept the responsibility of why we have the record we have right now. I’ve got to try to keep the guys together.”
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“I never try to accomplish anything like that,” Gasol said. “I always have (the coach’s) back… It’s shocking but it’s the nature of this business. Next time, it might be me. Next time it might be somebody else. The franchise is bigger than any player or coach. We’ve all got to be ready (for change).”
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