Why the Rudy Gay Deal is a great move for Memphis(And Rudy Too)

(Rudy Gay has played his last game for the Memphis Grizzlies.)

Two days ago, Rudy Gay tweeted this statement:

"I'm long overdue."

And while Rudy was most likely not speaking about his time in Memphis(or maybe he was, the writing was not only on the wall but all over the internet), he was correct in his assumptions. Rudy Gay was one of the highest paid players in the NBA this year, and has been since he signed the five year, $80 Million deal with Memphis in 2010. 

The deal included the stipulation that Rudy Gay's contract would increase by 10.5% each year, meaning that the Grizzlies were on schedule to pay Gay close to $17 Million in 2014, and $19 Million in 2015. While Gay has slowly become one of the faces of the franchise, he was simply not earning that type of money. To give you a comparison to other players:

Rudy Gay is currently ranked 27th among all Small Forwards in the NBA(yes, just small forwards) in PER, with a 14.39. (This is hugely ironic by the way, as John Hollinger, the man pretty much responsible for trading Gay, invented that stat.) The two players who surround Rudy Gay are Kwahi Leonard of the Spurs (26th, 14.43) and Dorell Wright of the Sixers (28th, 14.12). 

(Gay Simply wasn't earning his paycheck in the minds of John Hollinger and Memphis.)

While Rudy is set to make right around $15 Million this year, Dorell Wright will make $4.1 Million this year, and Kwahi Leonard will make $1.8 Million. Not really getting any bang for your buck are you?

Rudy was  averaging career lows in free throw percentage and field goal percentage(his field goal percentage is down from 45% to 40%, making almost a shot less per game) and thus his scoring is down as well. Gay also doesn't fit in the Grizzlies scheme in the way that your highest paid player should. With him not shooting well and pounding the ball, teams could sag into Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, preventing the Grizzlies from being able to play any inside-out or pick and roll with any efficiency. Also, with O.J. Mayo gone, Tony Allen was the other scoring option if Gay couldn't get open and the ball couldn't get down low. Needless to say, it was time for a time to rebuild this offense.

While Zach Randolph's name has been thrown around in trade rumors as well, the Grizzlies seemed to have built themselves for long term. They grab an expiring contract in Tayshaun Prince(who could actually help them on the defensive side of the ball, another area where Gay was lacking), and a young player in Ed Davis who isn't well known now, but will be soon now that his energy and solid defense has moved south of the border. Austin Daye has also been looking for a new place to prove himself, and after the Grizzlies trade last week, there are room for role players on that bench. They also have alot more cap space to work with in 2014.

Don't feel bad for Rudy Gay though. He gets a new home in Toronto that is going to feature him as their star, and will most likely turn to him when making certain decisions. He also teams up with Kyle Lowry, whom is well known to be one of Gay's closest friends in the NBA. A starting five of Lowry, Derozan, Gay, Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson is a much better starting five than they started the day with. 

The Raptors can rebuild their offense to play off of Gay(possibly in the way you see the Celtics do with Paul Pierce at times), and become extremely athletic. Don't be surprised if the Raptors make a small push here in the second half, and make sure to circle February 20th on your calendar. The Raptors and their new superstar head to Memphis.


-Bford

 

Memphis Ships Rudy Gay to Toronto in 3-team deal

Well, I wrote about this earlier as being set in stone, and in fact Rudy Gay has been moved this evening.  The Grizzlies will receive promising 23 year old PF Ed Davis from the Raptors as well Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye from Detroit.  Detroit will receive PG Jose Calderon.  Toronto Receives Rudy Gay of course along with reserve center Hamed Haddadi.

The Memphis starting lineup Projects as:
Pg: Mike Conley
Sg: Tony Allen
Sf: Tayshaun Prince
Pf: Zach Randolph
C: Marc Gasol

Key reserves: Ed Davis, Darrell Arthur, Jared Bayless

Look for Memphis to try and find a way to trade Zach Randolph in the next two weeks as they redo the roster.  All in all, not a terrible haul for Memphis, I think Davis is really good young player and they get two key players in Prince and Daye. Toronto gets its target...now they need a trade partner for Andrea Bargnani. Detroit gets the veteran PG it needed.  I think this is an all-around win for each team.

Toronto now boats three of the best in-game dunkers in the league now in Gay, Terrence Ross, and DeMar Derozan.

Senior Editor Brian Ford will have more on this later!

Rising Star Roster Set for All Star Weekend

Rookies: Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Alexey Schved, Dion Waiters, and Tyler Zeller

Sophomores: Kyrie Irving, Kenneth Faried, Brandon Knight, Kawhi Leonard, Chandler Parsons, Klay Thompson Tristan Thompson, Nikola Vucevic, and Kemba Walker.

Where is the love for Jared Sullinger, Terrence Ross, MKG, Ricky Rubio and Bradley Beal? Can't bring everyone but those guys could have been there.

Southwest Division: Spurs are Dominant, Rudy Gay is all but gone from Memphis

I'll be bringing my talents to...

While the Division looks to be back to just a one team race for the top spot (was it ever in question the Spurs would win this division?), it doesn't mean there aren't story lines galore in the Southwest.  Where will Rudy Gay land? Will the Rockets use their young assets to bring another star around Harden before the deadline? Can the Mavericks continue to recover from a poor start? And the "Pelicans" hang tough with just about every team...Greivis Vasquez for Most Improved anyone? Let's tackle these questions in the our most recent roundup.

SOUTHWEST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	DIFF	STRK	L10
San Antonio	36	11	.766	-	20-2	16-9	11-2	21-8	104.4	96.3	+8.1	Won 8	9-1
Memphis	29	15	.659	5 ½	17-7	12-8	4-5	16-11	93.4	89.5	+3.9	Won 1	5-5
Houston	25	22	.532	11	15-8	10-14	4-7	9-17	104.9	102.4	+2.5	Won 3	4-6
Dallas	19	26	.422	16	12-9	7-17	3-5	10-17	100.6	103.0	-2.4	Lost 1	6-4
New Orleans	15	30	.333	20	7-15	8-15	4-7	8-20	93.5	97.3	-3.8	Lost 1	5-5

We don't need to say much about San Antonio this week as they have continued their dominance winning 8 straight games to stretch their lead to 5.5 games.  They also have dominated divisional opponents winning 11 of 13 contests so far.  The scariest news for other teams in the division? The Spurs are likely to win their next 4 games, against NBA bottom feeders Charlotte, Washington, Minnesota, and Detroit.  The only possible tests I see in there is Detroit potentially or Washington if Martel Webster or Bradley Beal catches fire from downtown.  So it looks like they will be winners of 12 straight soon...time for Pop to start coming up with a rest schedule for his stars.  This team does everything well except maybe rebound, but they aren't too shabby at that either (-.7 differential is minimal).  I honestly think this is the best team in the NBA and I can't wait for the Feb 21st game against the Clippers of Lob City and the March 11th game against OKC.  Those will be the real measuring sticks we need to evaluate the championships hopes of each team I believe (sure it's just one game, but those are the BIGGEST regular season games left in the Western Conference). Well, just to understand the Spurs magic, here is Tim Duncan doing the un-amazing amazingly:

Okay so now onto the real gritty stuff in this division.  First off, I believe Rudy Gay is all but gone from the Grizz.  His contract is such a huge cap hit next year, that a small market team like Memphis just can't take on the risk of having to pay out the final 37 million on his contract.  While reports from reliable sources like WoJo say that the Raptors and Grizz have all but completed a trade, needing only a third team to take on Jose Calderon's $10.5 million contract, I think that is just one instance where Gay could land outside Memphis.  The Celtics with Paul Pierce's contract that could be bought out (only 4 million guaranteed next season) are another option, although as a C's fan, I don't think the blowup strategy would really work with our roster (a topic for another post). Anyway, the biggest hurdle is finding that third team.  Could the aforementioned Celtics, a team in need of PG help following the season ending ACL injury to star Rajon Rondo, be a taker? The Mavericks who have a lot of veterans on short contracts including Chris Kaman's expiring 8 million could be a landing spot for Calderon to help facilitate this deal.  All in all, where there is smoke, there is likely fire, so Rudy Gay you better get a travel bag ready.  While often a poor shooter, his talents/potential are in line with stardom:

Oh yeah, so the Grizzlies are pretty good right now too, winning 3 of 4. Marc Gasol is a monster and they have the best defensive backcourt (Tony Allen & Mike Conley) in basketball. Too bad they just can't generate the revenue to support the team they could have.

The Rockets are yet another interesting team in this Southwest.  The team is not poised to truly compete this season, although they are extremely fun to watch and can actually be good on both ends of the floor. What this team really needs is another star to compliment James "the beard" Harden.  Could they make a run at Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol, even Zach Randolph? They certainly have the young talent to entice a team in transition mode in need of youth, but are those the players they want to add.  With Harden and Asik as really the only untouchables, (Parsons, Morris, Paterson are all valuable pieces, but not untouchable) putting a star with them makes this team one of the most dangerous in the league.  I want to know what Rocket fans think...Do you try and improve now for a two year window and then find another player to team with Harden, or do you steadily wait and hope you have a long window that starts as early as next year, but most likely 2014? I'm thinking championships here, not just a playoff team.  The Rockets have won 4 of 5, so maybe they just stay the course this season and reevaluate where they are after. It'll be tough to compete with Spurs, Clippers and Thunder over the next couple years anyways. Just keep in mind that if they want to be aggressive, they have the young talent to go get someone.

The Mavs are a team that I think will be Buyers, but really should be sellers come the deadline in two weeks.  They have almost no shot at competing for a title this season, and unless they can bring in some more talent to surround Dirk, Mayo, and Collison with for next season they will find themselves in the NBA hell-fire of a late lottery team.  They suffered a heartbreaking, soul crushing loss last night to Portland, who stormed back after being down 21 points.  Portland was down 3 with about 5 second left and managed 5 points in that time frame, thanks to a 50/50 charging foul called on Mayo and a heroic effort by LeMarcus Aldridge (game tying 3 with 5 second left, buzzer beater after the charge to win). I just don't think this team has what it takes and should sell off Kaman, Brand, and Carter.  The one big question in Big D is whether or not the team has a chance at Dwight in the offseason? If they do, they only want back expiring contracts or inexpensive talent, but if they feel he is out of their reach they need to acquire some long term talent to pair with Dirk in his
twilight.

And finally, the NO Pelicans..err Hornets always seem to have a sting in them, but just not enough to get over the hump. Greivis Vasquez and Omer Asik are my two picks for a toss up in the Most Improved Player award,  While Vasquez is still less than stellar at shooting, his determination and grit is admirable.  He gets into the lane nicely and he continues to find his teammates at a staggering pace.  Vasquez went from 5.4 assists per game last season to 9.3 so far this season in 9 more minutes   That's incredible improvement.  I'm just waiting for Anthony Davis to figure the NBA game out.  He doesn't always get rebounds and he sits on the baseline offensively way too often.  Once his activity level boosts, he will be a star.  I look for a monster second half from the big fella.

That all for today's roundup folks.  Remember to follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/theNBAninja and stay tuned as the PickandPopDiaries enters 21 days of trade rumors heading up to the deadline.

Power Rankings Week 14

1. San Antonio Spurs 36-11
-This team is 5th in offensive efficiency and 4th in defensive efficiency.  Their incredible balance offensively is led by MVP candidate Tony Parker and the still great Tim Duncan. This team is not as explosive as OKC or LAC but they limit their mistakes while exploiting their opponents weaknesses.  The truest team in the NBA. (AL)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder 36-11
-The Thunder are the best team in the league.The Spurs have the best record but Every year they cruise during the regular season and falter in the playoffs. They remind me of the Patriots, excuse me while I have a good cry. (EJ)

3. Los Angeles Clippers 33-13
-When does the Chris Paul injury become an issue? He has missed their last five games and the Clippers are staring an eight game road trip in the face. (BF)

4. Miami Heat 28-13
-Despite the loss to the Celtics, the Heat were able to shake it off with a nice visit to the White House. You have to think this team has two or three more gears come playoff time. (BF)

(Kudos to the Coach who went Bow-Tie to the White House.)

5. Chicago Bulls 27-17
-Rose is ramping his activity up from predictable contact to “more contact”. Thanks for insight coach Thibbs. How quickly Rose can come back will greatly effect the Bulls, not just because of how good he is but because he needs time to mesh with teammates. (EJ)




6. New York Knicks 27-15
-The Knicks have been playing uneven basketball, but all six of their next opponents are under .500 on the season so expect them to rip off some wins in the near future. Melo had one of his best games of the season on Sunday going off for 42 including 9 of 12 from deep, a huge relief for Knickerbocker fans who had seen Melo fall into a shooting slump of late. (AL)

7. Brooklyn Nets 27-18
-After winning 10 of 11 this team has dropped two straight to Memphis and Houston, but fear not Nets fans, this team is for real and will challenge the Knicks for the division.  It's also a shame that Brook Lopez wasn't originally chosen for the all star team, but i expect him to replace Rondo on the East squad. (AL)

8. Golden State Warriors 27-17
-The return of Andrew Bogut is huge. Filling your biggest void on defense with a borderline all-star(when healthy), makes the Warriors a huge dark horse in the West. I don't want think any team wants the upstart Warriors in round 1. (BF)

9. Memphis Grizzlies 29-15
-The trade has allowed them to keep intact their starting five for the remainder of the season.  I'm not sure if they have the depth to truly compete, but this starting 5 is very dangerous at a +114 plus/minus on the season. (AL)

10. Denver Nuggets 28-18
-The Nuggets are finally looking like the team we expected. They are running defending and dunking. Last night they showed that they could win in a slowed down game against an elite defensive team. It might have only been one win but it’s a huge step in their maturation process. (EJ)

(While the Nuggets don't scare anyone, their defense can be stifling.)

11. Indiana Pacers 26-19
-The maturation process of Paul George is an ongoing thing. Last night he tried to elevate himself from star, to superstar who makes buzzer beaters. What happened? Iguodala swallowed him up and they lost the game. (EJ)

12. Atlanta Hawks 25-19
-A twenty seven point comeback is a huge moral victory, but there is no secret that this team is hurting for a perimeter scorer. You can't depend on Kyle Korver getting hot every game come playoff time. (BF)

13. Milwaukee Bucks 23-19
-As everyone knows I am not a huge Bucks fan. However, last night Zach Lowe mentioned them as a possible landing spot for Pierce. This only happens if they get hot and look like a contender. If Boston getting Larry Sanders means rooting for Milwaukee, all I have to say is FEAR THE DEER! (EJ)

(Could Jennings be moved in the next three weeks?

14. Utah Jazz 24-21
-As soon as I get back on the Jazz bandwagon, they lose by 100 to the Rockets at home. One day it looks like they will be adding a piece for a the stretch run, the next they look like a team poised for a youth movement. Too bad it’s not acceptable for my analysis of this team to be “Hell if I know”. (EJ)

15. Houston Rockets 25-22
-Hanging onto the 8th seed, the ever streaky Rockets having won 3 of their last 4 have some tough test in their next five games including tilts at Utah, at Denver, home against Golden State and at Miami.  This is a crucial stretch for their playoff hopes, splitting these games would be a nice win for this team. (AL)

16. Portland Trailblazers 22-22
-As any team with no bench is wont to do they look great some games and completely worn out in others. In the NBA bench players often play better at home where they have the support of the crowd. Portland is 15-8 at home, if they can turn around their road woes by improved bench play watch out. (EJ)

17. Los Angeles Lakes 19-25
-Okay, so now the solution is Kobe needs to be more of a facilitator. Short term, this is working. Long term? History shows Mr. Bryant is going to get the shots when he wants them. (BF)

18. Boston Celtics 21-23
-Rondo's injury certainly dampened any enjoyment the C's had in winning a double OT thriller against the Heat, but never count out a team that has two future hall of famers suiting up.  With KG and Pierce on board, this team can still play with anyone. (AL)

19. Dallas Mavericks 19-25
-Four games back of the 8th seed, the Mavs find themselves in a tough spot.  They know they can't beat the elite in a series, but they could sneak into the playoffs.  Are they sellers or buyers? With Cuban at the helm, I say they buy. (AL)

(Expect the Mavericks to be dealing this deadline.)

20. Philadelphia 76ers 18-26
-I am going to continue to gush over Jrue Holiday.  In January he is averaging 21.2 points, 9.1 assists, 4.4 rebound, and nearly 2 steals, all while shooting slightly above 48% from the field. (AL)

21. Detroit Pistons 17-27
-Like most young teams Detroit is better at home. Anytime they get a road win it is another step in their progression. The last such step had Brandon Knight leading his team with 31 in a win against Orlando. (EJ)

22. Minnesota Timberwolves 17-24
-The Timberwolves are 1-9 in their last ten games. Normally this would signal time to shed contract and rebuild. Unfortunately, the Wolves injured players can’t be traded and since all their players are injured they will have to weather this Minnesota style blizzard of injuries.(EJ)

23. Sacramento Kings 17-29
-It gets very bogged down this low in the league, but the Kings have played average basketball. It's unreal how much Demarcus Cousins can contribute to a game even if he doesn't care. Imagine what he could do if he did. (BF)

24. Toronto Raptors 16-29
-This team will be the most interesting sellers at the deadline as they decide who move forward with at PG (Calderon or Lowry) and try to find a trading partner for Bargnani's contract.  The team continues to play on an average level, but right now all eyes are on the front office. (AL)

25. New Orleans Hornets 15-29
-I can't help but have fun watching this team despite them being 4th to last in defensive efficiency.  Anthony Davis keeps showing signs of the franchise player he could be.  I think he'll have a monster post all star break, averaging a double-double in his final 30 games. (AL)

(Davis is about two years away from being something really special.)

26. Orlando Magic 14-30
-The Magic are getting bit by the "basketball gods" according to J.J. Redick. I think it might be that the lack of talent has finally caught up the Magic. Expect them to be in sell mode. (BF)

27. Phoenix Suns 15-30
-The Suns are 3-7 in their last ten, and can't seem to put two good halves together. They have been rumored to be interested in Rudy Gay, but what could they give back? (BF)

28. Washington Wizards 11-32
-The Wizards are quietly 6-4 in their last ten games. However, it is time to fire Randy Whitman. His late game choices(bringing in a cold player to guard the ball handler in the last minute of the game) are costing them wins. (BF)

29. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-32
-Kyrie Irving is the reigning eastern conference player of the week. He has shown that he can lead his team to wins despite the cast around him. His play moves them up the list on his own. (EJ)

30. Charlotte Bobcats 11-33
-The Bobcats are 4-28 in their last 32. And yes I will keep using that stat. Because every other stat shows that they are just as bad. (BF)

-Bford