To all those who say Rudy is the problem, I say nay nay.

[Bendit]

BINGO!!! That's why I firmly believe he would do well with the Lakers. Their management is smart enough to know that Kobe will bring him to heel. He feels like the alpha dog here and does as he pleases, but he's a very talented guy who could be effective if he ever learned to play within himself and buy into a team concept.

Ah Melo! Even alpha dogs have a pecking order when grouped together. Witness the Olympics where Melo's schtick must have been drowned out in all that barking by the other dogs on the team. He took a subservient role, did as told and by all accounts performed very well. MU has just got to find a fit for Gay and then sell the GM on the possibilities. I refuse to believe (so far) that Gay is as bad as his stats say he is. btw the coach must be a strong personality as well...ala Hollins or a Rivers.

[Masai Ujiri]

Gay would be an extremely good player if his brain was wired like Iguodala's.

He can pass very well, he can handle the ball, he can play lockdown defense if he wants, he can rebound.

The problem is he has the mentality of Kobe, without anywhere near the scoring ability.

[Bendit]

Not sure about the "pass" (2.2 apg) or the "handle" (eye test this year at least/to higher than his career avg). I really believe he has been hampered with his weight gain All this and he has been given the option1 assignment. This was not what he was in Memphis. He had the leash on him there. I dont know why this team has always projected WRONG when placing responsibilities on a player being traded for or as a f/a. Jeebus the Colangelo-Kelly tandem were horrible. Dont be surprised if he does well if traded.

[OldSkoolCool]

I think that Okafur is under contract to the end of this season, so the PHX trade would have to happen this season or would have to be a sign and trade after the season. S&T players are 1 year guaranteed, on a min 3-yr deal. No thanks.

Would be great for TO this season, since they would get rid of Gay, clear his payroll room, receive a pick (no idea why anyone would give a pick, even late 1st round to acquire Gay though). I'm guessing Frye doesn't pick up his option in this scenario.
But from PHX side, they have a big expiring now in Okafur, so why push that back a year?

For the Philly trade, again, works out great for TO, especially if you like Evan Turner. Plus J Rich as an expiring (assuming he picks up that option) next season might be useful in a future trade. But why would Philly want Rudy? Maybe they do it assuming he will not pick up his option for next year. I suppose even if he did, Philly has <20m on the books anyway, but seems like a gamble when they could just rescind Turner and try to sign someone they actually want, or use the room on more smaller contracts.

For the Charlotte trade: Why would anyone send TWO! picks out in a Rudy Gay trade? Besides, they have 8 guys @ 38m signed for next year, Rudy would make 9 guys @ 57m, so that leaves 5m to sign Sessions plus roster filler. Not impossible, but not likely either. The only way this works is if for some reason, Charlotte wants a reclamation project in Rudy, and thinks he signs there for a lot less money. Otherwise, aren't they trading Ben Gordon, to essentially acquire and re-sign a Ben Gordon type of player?

I don't think the CLE trade work unless they send out more salary. Looks like they would need to send out almost 2m more. However, I think that depending on how CLE views Rudy, they could be a trade partner since their Gee/Bennett/Clark SF rotation has been terrible. I don't see anything straight up with TO-CLE, but maybe if you get a third team involved.

Sorry to throw the negative spin on those trades, but I don't see how anyone takes on Rudy and gives up picks without shedding some longer, more toxic contracts.

I think you are undervaluing Gay a little. He is playing like a turd, but his still is doing pretty good defensively and rebounding. If Ujiri can sell someone that he will thrive in a structured system where he is that 4/5 option then he can be a very good player. He is playing the worst in his career because he is the top tog, in a system where he isn't a top dog I expect he will play quite well.

The Charlotte trade I would only expect one of those picks, hence the +/-. Sorry for any confusion. I think that trade makes a lot of sense for Charlotte right now since they are in serious playoff talks in the east and their biggest need is some scoring off the bench. Also since Gay is doing well defensively and on the boards he fits their system quite well. They also have MKG in their starting lineup, which delegates Gay to the bench, which IMO is the best role for him.

PHX is okay pushing it back a year because next season is going to be a development year with their 3 new draftees, they will still want to be competitive and make the playoffs however and Gay will help them do so. The players they have dont expire until 2015 anyways, and the big FA class is coming up in 2015 too, so Gay doesn't hurt their rebuilding process one bit..he actually may help attract FA's by helping them in the playoffs (assuming he thrives playing with Bledsoe and Dragic, which I think he will)

Philly does it only if they don't want to retain the rights to Turner...basically they will be turning a late first and 2 non-future pieces into a serviceable SF for a season and a half. Not a bad deal for them, they have the cap space for it.

I can see Cleveland going for it...because their management is pretty stupid

[OldSkoolCool]

Gay would be an extremely good player if his brain was wired like Iguodala's.

He can pass very well, he can handle the ball, he can play lockdown defense if he wants, he can rebound.

The problem is he has the mentality of Kobe, without anywhere near the scoring ability.

You sir, are delusional

[Fully]

Rudy's not the only problem, but he's a big one nonetheless.

And I'm not just talking about how poorly he's shooting the rock or the tunnel vision that plagues him so frequently. He does do some positive things on the court but the relationship between his salary and his production makes it really difficult to put a good enough team around him.

This is why I told everyone last year that trading for him was a huge mistake, but I digress...

[Axel]

You sir, are delusional

You don't like Rudy's handles and passing? But he's got 3 games this year with more assists than turnovers!

[drunkmunky]

Rudy Gay = LVP

[Masai Ujiri]

You sir, are delusional

Do not ever insult me again.

[OldSkoolCool]

Do not ever insult me again.

Haha that little comment I left was more for comedic critique, rather than a flat out insult.

If I say that Stone is going to be the greatest 3pt shooter in the history of the NBA, and you say "you sir, are delusional", I would probably face-palm myself and move on...because that would be pretty stupid

If I write something that is meant to be insulting...I wont be subtle, or I probably wont right anything.

[MrBlack]

I think you are undervaluing Gay a little. He is playing like a turd, but his still is doing pretty good defensively and rebounding. If Ujiri can sell someone that he will thrive in a structured system where he is that 4/5 option then he can be a very good player.

That's a really big if. He hasn't thrived in any role yet in his career, so I'm not sure how you sell a team on a guy with a 19m option to be your 4/5, 6th man etc. What will he be, something like the 6th-10th highest paid player in the league next year? Taking up 30% of the projected cap even on a year and a half contract is tough to rationalize.

Charlotte is top-3 D right now, so I doubt Rudy would improve on that. If they are looking for scoring, Rudy certainly isn't going to help. He would be great if you're looking for shooting, but not so much with actually scoring.

For PHX, if the focus is on 2015 (valid point BTW) then I look at it this way: Their payroll for next year, including Frye picking up his option, and signing Bledsloe would be in the 41m-43m range. Add in whatever they pay PJ Tucker and their draft picks, and they would have the same roster (+picks) for well under the current projected cap. Use next year to see what develops from the current roster, and see if you can pull off a Harden style trade using some of those young developing pieces. If not, then they have very few commitments for the following season.

Philly certainly could do it, with their basement cap position. They really don't have options at SF. But Rudy doesn't fit, short of a massive overhaul in his style of play. You are talking about the fastest team in the league, while Rudy is a big reason why TO is nearly bottom 5. So unlike the other trade mentions, its a bad style fit rather than a bad cap fit.

I applaud the effort in finding a spot for him. I think it speaks to the difficulty of moving around 30% of the cap in salaries in one move, more than anything.

And also, I can see Cleveland going for it, because their management is pretty stupid. Maybe stupid is harsh, so at least you could say they are willing to gamble.