For Memphis, it clears the post for ZBO and Gasol, while giving them 2 big SF who can knock down 3s at 40% +. And Ed Davis could eventually make ZBO expendable if he meets expectations. Right now, Davis averages 9 and 6 in 23 minutes per.

For Detroit, they can now give Drummond (dude looks good) more minutes because they will be building around him and Monroe. Those are 2 pretty nice young bigs to build around. They have a nice expiring contract who will also be a nice mentor for Knight.

For Toronto, I agree with whoever said they're going w/ the Durant/Westbrook w/ Gay/DeRozan. Unfortunately, neither is quite that good, but they do have chips for future wheeling and dealing.

3G4G wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:Gay really isn't above average in anything other than FGA (and hence PPG). Calderon is a very efficient scorer who gets a lot of assists and rarely turns the ball over.

Calderon is 31

Rudy Gay is 26

You have to keep those things in mind too.

Bonn1997 wrote:

3G4G wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:Gay really isn't above average in anything other than FGA (and hence PPG). Calderon is a very efficient scorer who gets a lot of assists and rarely turns the ball over.

Calderon is 31

Rudy Gay is 26

You have to keep those things in mind too.

I wouldn't want Gay at all at his salary.

It's not like a bunch of big name free agents flock to Toronto and Gay only has 2yrs left on his deal.

Many look at his contract and see the last 3 years of his contract $16,460,532, $17,888,932, and $19,317,326, deciding he is not worth that money
But how many young SF's possess his combination of size, athleticism, skills, and potential after Lebron/Durant *both are ElITE studs*?
Not many even come close, these are the ones that are similar that are young, Paul George, Nicolas Batum << the 2 most comparable, Danny Granger *red flag for his knee injury*, Iggy

At 26 year's of age, he has NOT reached his max potential and still has the chance to be the best SF after Lebron/Durant
He was payed on POTENTIAL like Harden, Hibbert, Iggy, Granger, Eric Gordon and many other players coming off their rookie contracts
Now looking at these players, I think he is more talented with EVERYONE on the list above besides Harden, so you MUST give him a max extension based on his potential during the time

In his 2nd year, in under 40 minutes, he already scores 20pts on 46%, 1.5 3pt's on 35%, 6rbs, 3assist, 1.5 steals, 1 block, 78% FT shooting while taking about 4 FT's a game

Judging from his stats, he has not improved anything since his 2nd year, getting more or less the same stats every year with his FG% fluctuating from 40.8%(this year is his worst) to as high as 47.1%

I think using STAT's to define a player can be very misleading ,unfortunately, it generally is the measure of the value of the player, with what he is worth/compared to players, and the ultimate decision make for a team/GM is willing to give for a player's contract
For Rudy Gay to be proven a top tier all star, after Lebron/Durant, he must improve his FG%, get to the FT much more, be able to make his team mates around him better, and improve his DEFENSE to a lock down potential in which he should be able to do with his physical attributes

With his physical abilities/size/strength/ and skills, there is no reason why he also can NOT be a lock down defender

Gay is very versatile, can play multiple positions and play multiple styles to create mismatches, and can easily play SG/SF *@SG he can dominate the position with his size/strength/athleticism/skills and is a mismatch that not many teams can defend*
I also think he can play some PF, like how Melo has plays PF, except Gay was always much more athletic than Melo
He has many skill's with his athleticism/physical abilities, can shoot from anywhere on the floor, post up in mid range or deep post, penetrate off the dribble, finish with contract for a explosive dunk, can RISE UP and shoot over almost anyone like how Durant/Lebron can

I think he is a NOTCH below Carmelo Anthony but he did not reach his full potential yet and he has much more athleticism than Melo
Some feel Gay is over paid, but what about a Joe Johnson like contract at 25m+ multiyear deal that Carmelo can get on his next extension?
I don't mind having both players, I believe they can coexist, but they both eventually have to learn to play OFF THE BALL, a skill that many top NBA players don't seem to understand the importance off

If Anthony demands a Joe Johnson like deal and limits our flexibity for the FA class of 2015, which he can opt out 1 year earlier and do...

I personally would rather have the younger, more athletic Gay at about 15m per year, not a knock on Anthony but there are just too many FA in 2015 to create a dynasty with
Even if Anthony >>> Rudy Gay, is Melo worth that extra money with the new CBA and the extra money we can use to sign another FA?
We will have to rebuild our roster in 2015 summer with the FA pool

Would you rather have

Rudy Gay and Kevin Love or Alridge, with some money left

or

Anthony and Chandler *think TC will be due for a big drop off with age/injuries in 5 years* given their age of their NEXT contract in 3 years?

I am very high on Iman Shumpert and I love what he brings and his attitude/work ethic/approach to the game both on and off the court, but if I had to, I would give Iman up in a package for Rudy Gay

Toronto will prob move bargs and derozan by the deadline

Alex Kennedy ‏@AlexKennedyNBA
If you missed it, the Phoenix Suns are pursuing Josh Smith. They'll try to acquire Smith before the Feb. 21 deadline: http://tinyurl.com/b7m34yr

dk7th wrote:memphis was smart.

just looking at gay's game he's an okay player but looking at his numbers tells a different story, namely that he's overrated and closer to fool's gold.

look at the numbers:

for his career his TS% is an anemic 52.6 and this year has dropped to 47.8

gay also is not a team-oriented player, as his usg/ast ratio shows clearly, being 2.52:1 which is too high. this year he has improved this ratio to an acceptable 2.04. tayshaun prince is the better team player with a 1.38:1 ratio-- in fact elite for a small forward.

moreover gay only takes around 3-4 fta per game while putting up closer to 15 fga. that isn't a playoff-ready player. the ratio is 4.5:1 which shows he doesn't like to draw contact. you need to be able to do that in the playoffs.

and i recall not being terribly impressed by his defensive presence. prince is likely a more effective defender.

the memphis gm made the right move here. you can't pay a guy like this more than 9-10 million a year.

this looks like a big-time, real world, high-stakes, millions and millions of dollars validation of hollinger and his approach to the evaluation of players. i guess bonn1997 and dk7th are getting some derivative validation right now too.

SupremeCommander wrote:

Solace wrote:Crazy trade, but you can't argue it, really. Now do people believe that the Grizzlies have some serious financial issues? Maybe now we can stop bashing them for penny pinching; it really has to do with what it takes to keep the team running effectively.

I still find the new CBA ironic. It's a death sentence for small market teams. They get good enough to compete and then they are forced to trade one of their stars to keep the payroll low. Wasn't the idea to penalize the big market teams? Hilarious.

honestly the should make it easier to acquire draft picks... at least the small market clubs would get to develop stars before their owner has a chance to sell that player to a bigger market

Very true. The nonsense behind this actually goes against the motto of the NBA trying to make it easy for teams to keep their stars. Small market teams can't afford it.

CrushAlot wrote:

dk7th wrote:memphis was smart.

just looking at gay's game he's an okay player but looking at his numbers tells a different story, namely that he's overrated and closer to fool's gold.

look at the numbers:

for his career his TS% is an anemic 52.6 and this year has dropped to 47.8

gay also is not a team-oriented player, as his usg/ast ratio shows clearly, being 2.52:1 which is too high. this year he has improved this ratio to an acceptable 2.04. tayshaun prince is the better team player with a 1.38:1 ratio-- in fact elite for a small forward.

moreover gay only takes around 3-4 fta per game while putting up closer to 15 fga. that isn't a playoff-ready player. the ratio is 4.5:1 which shows he doesn't like to draw contact. you need to be able to do that in the playoffs.

and i recall not being terribly impressed by his defensive presence. prince is likely a more effective defender.

the memphis gm made the right move here. you can't pay a guy like this more than 9-10 million a year.

this looks like a big-time, real world, high-stakes, millions and millions of dollars validation of hollinger and his approach to the evaluation of players. i guess bonn1997 and dk7th are getting some derivative validation right now too.

I think they might have been smarter to wait to the offseason. I think they had a real chance at going all the way. They were a really good team. Gasol is probably the best center in the league and Zach is definitely the best post player. With their defensive minded back court and great size they could have beaten anyone. Not so sure anymore. I like Prince, Daye and Davis but I am not sure how things will play out. I know Memphis really likes Darrell Arthur but Gaye could blow up in Toronto.

well lets look at it from a return on investment pov... is any of the competition carrying overpaid players like gay? heat, bulls, okc?

this year okc has good payroll but next year not so much. ibaka and westbrook will be overpaid.
chicago's overpays boozer and rose but underpay noah so things balance out a bit.
heat found a way but that payroll situation is unsustainable but hey they got their rings.
memphis really stands out as the one top flight team with an overpaid core player. randolph is also a bit overpaid but he is a better piece and a better fit than gay in terms of memphis's approach, ie a rare true center who can pass in gasol. also randolph is an elite offensive rebounder which is very valuable in the playoffs.