Marc clinches star contract

The Memphis Grizzlies is determined to taste success once and for all - to reach the NBA finals, achieve a Championship Ring and forget a good part of its 16 years of existence. And for that, it has no doubt, Marc Gasol is nothing short of indispensable.

The team has handed the Spanish center a fabulous $58-million - or 44-million-euro - contract for the next four seasons, which will likely place him among the top 30 best-paid players in the NBA. He will receive a little less than 10 million euros for the season he's about to begin, but his earnings will go on gradually increasing to reach 11 million euros a year. Last season, his brother Pau Gasol earned 14.3 million euros at the LA Lakers.

Marc Gasol arrived at the Grizzlies three years ago as just another player. Most US basketball fans knew him better for being Pau's younger brother than for his performances on court. But last season he made an impressive leap forward, helping the Grizzlies reach the playoffs, where he achieved a game average of 15 points and 11.2 rebounds.

In the summer he became a restricted free agent, which allowed him to receive offers. The Houston Rockets went after him, while other teams also sought his signature. But the Grizzlies warned it would equal or surpass any offer made for him - and that is what it has done.

"We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Marc, one of the cornerstones of our franchise," said Grizzlies sporting director Chris Wallace, adding: "He has played basketball in Memphis since the days when he competed at the Lausanne Collegiate School and we are delighted that he has continued his buoyant career at the Grizzlies."

Rudy to Denver

Mallorcan shooting guard Rudy Fernández is at last set to return to the United States, but to the Denver Nuggets rather than the Dallas Mavericks, as had been predicted when the lockout was called off. The Mavericks, the reigning NBA champion that won his rights in last June's draft, reached an agreement to send Rudy and Corey Brewster to the Nuggets in exchange for a future second-round draft pick. Nuggets coach George Karl, who managed Real Madrid in the 1990s, was the man who insisted the deal went ahead.