Here is the link to an interview with the Memphis GM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...ris&id=3226776
In it, the GM explains that they were looking for the largest expiring contract they could get.
Also, the GM takes special care to emphasize that while looking for the largest possible expiring contract, this trade was NOT about making the team more palatable to a potential buyer, even though the team has been for sale for 3 years.....which basically means that is exactly why they made the trade. Coincidentally, even though the trade was "not" a fire sale, their stated strategy is to sign one year deals instead of long-term contracts. Why would that be, unless they wanted to keep their long-term liability to a minimum?
If they Grizzlies took on some superstar contract in lieu of Gasol, there would have been no point trading Gasol because they would still be stuck with a long-term high priced deal. So they took on high draft picks that wont require high salary, including Marc Gasol.
This was a business deal, not a basketball deal.