Marc Gasol returns from Spain to Memphis, where he lived as a teen, with a far more physical game than his older brother Pau's. AP

Fast Fact

Last season Rudy Gay led all second-year players in minutes, scoring, defensive rebounds, field goals and threes while finishing among the top three sophomores in total boards, steals and blocks.

Last Season

Record: 22-60 (T-13th in West) Points scored: 100.7 (10th in NBA) Points allowed: 106.9 (28th)

The perennial cellar dwellers would be happy if this Gasol is half the player his brother is

When the Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers last February to get out from under the nearly $50 million remaining on his contract, they wanted the closest thing in return.

"We wouldn't have made the deal if we couldn't get Marc Gasol," says coach Marc Iavaroni about Pau's younger brother, whose rights Memphis acquired along with players Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two first-round picks. "But the trade was always viewed as if he wasn't part of it. I thought that should have been the most interesting part of the national discussion."

When Iavaroni took the Grizzlies job in May 2007, he flew to Spain to introduce himself to Pau. Last summer he went there to meet Marc, explaining how vital he was to the team's rebuilding process -- which the owner says is a three-year project -- and how he would fit into Memphis's young lineup.

With his shaggy hair, gnarly beard and Catalan accent, Marc, who attended high school in Memphis for two years after Pau was drafted by the Grizzlies in 2001 and is living in Pau's old condo, looks and sounds a lot like his brother. Their games, however, differ greatly: The 7-foot-1, 265-pound Marc is a classic low-post player, while the 7-foot, 250-pound Pau is more comfortable facing up and running the floor.

"When Pau came to the league, it was harder for him because he was 20," says Marc, a second-round pick of the Lakers in '07 who was named MVP of the ACB League in Spain last season. "I'm 23, and I've been playing professional ball for five years. It's a different situation, and I'm a different player."-- Arash Markazi