Sorry, fellow NBA elites: The bruising, battle-tested, grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies aren't leaving the championship race anytime soon.
Not with their primary key to contention, Marc Gasol, set to reprise his role as their All-Star interior anchor.
To no one's surprise, the 7'1" center tied his future to the only NBA home he's ever known. Gasol agreed to a five-year deal worth $110 million, with a player option after the fourth year, as reported by ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
That's great news for the Grizzlies and an expected-but-still-painful gut punch to everyone else.