After Game 7 loss, focus on Grizzlies shifts to free agents Gasol, Battier

Re-sign 7-foot center Marc Gasol and find a deft 3-pointer shooter or two. That, and welcome back injured forward Rudy Gay with his good arm reloaded.

The same group that won 46 regular-season games and then tacked on seven postseason victories will return largely intact. But Gasol's future will be a major issue this summer.

Other personnel matters involving Shane Battier, Sam Young and Hamed Haddadi must also be addressed.

Hollins labeled Gasol as "important to who we are" while Griz general manger Chris Wallace called Gasol the team's No. 1 priority this offseason. The Griz can't negotiate with Gasol -- a restricted free agent -- until July 1 and have the right to match any offers he receives.

Heisley has said Gasol will decide if he wants to stay in Memphis. Gasol was noncommittal while also downplaying any notion he wants to join his older brother, Pau, in Los Angeles.

"Memphis is my home. This is my family," Gasol said. "But at the end of the day we'll see how everything plays out. You have to be smart about it, put all of your cards on the table and see how everything is going to play out. Right now, it might be a little too soon to tell.

"I'd be foolish if I thought about (playing with Pau). It would be unfair and selfish if I thought about that. Right now, I have to let it play out the way it's going to play out. Mr. Heisley thinks it's up to me but we all know it's not really up to me."

Wallace did make this guarantee: The Griz will soon tender Gasol, who averaged 11.7 points and seven rebounds in the regular season, a $4.46 million qualifying offer that triggers his restricted free-agent status.

"It's is obviously a high priority," Wallace said of re-signing Gasol. "Look what he did in the playoffs. ... You can see that he's an experienced, polished player that's been involved in those kind of moments. He didn't shy from that stage."

Gasol exceeded his regular-season averages by posting 15 points and 11.2 rebounds in the playoffs. Forward Zach Randolph said he was promised when he re-signed last month that the Griz would keep Gasol.

"It's really important that we keep him," Randolph said. "He told me he wants to be back. We all get along with each other. We care about each other. We're a family."

Unlike Gasol, the Grizzlies' aren't in control of Battier's future. Battier is unrestricted and can sign with any team without limitations. Battier expressed a sense of uncertainty about his plans given the likelihood of an NBA lockout, and a new collective bargaining agreement.

Battier seemed more certain about basketball criteria concerning his future.

"I don't have to start and play 40 minutes," he said. "I just want to have a role and be one of the guys a coach can lean on."

Whether Battier stays or not, Wallace sounded more inclined to continue augmenting the Grizzlies' young core with veteran contributors. Wallace said a designated shooter won't be found in the draft, especially given the Griz only own a late second-round pick.

Heisley emphatically put to rest rumors that he would be interested in dealing Gay this summer. "He is definitely a major part of this organization's future," Heisley said. "We have no plans whatsoever to trade him." ... Wallace said the team has not decided whether to tender Haddadi a $2 million qualifying offer before July 1.