Gay to debut for Raptors on Sunday [Post #727]

[Rapstor4Life]

Would you be down with both of them playing for the Raptors? I feel like their games wouldn't compliment eachother very well but I could be wrong

I would be down for this I think they would compliment each other extremely well for once in a long while we have 2 guys on the floor that demand double teams, Dont forget Gay plays with a non existent offensive game in Tony Allen. Raps would have a dangerous 123 in Lowry, DeRozan/Ross and Gay.

[Matt52]

Would you be down with both of them playing for the Raptors? I feel like their games wouldn't compliment eachother very well but I could be wrong

I don't think they would complement each other either.... but like you, I could also be wrong.

[Matt52]

I would be down for this I think they would compliment each other extremely well for once in a long while we have 2 guys on the floor that demand double teams, Dont forget Gay plays with a non existent offensive game in Tony Allen. Raps would have a dangerous 123 in Lowry, DeRozan/Ross and Gay.

Yes but Allen is a defensive ace and the Grizz rock Z-Bo and Gasol down low.

I don't think it is a fair comparison, but that is just my opinion. Could very likely be wrong.

[Raptor_11]

I'd actually like a Fields/Gay tandem with Ross off the bench. Fields is defensive minded, much like Allen is in Memphis

[ebrian]

I believe the Raptors could send them a "first allowable pick".

I am not 100% certain though.

Thanks for the clarification. Here are my confidence levels of potential deals:

Jose, Ed Davis for Rudy Gay: 100% behind it
Jose, ED, 2nd round pick for Gay: 95% (because what have we ever gotten out of a 2nd round pick)
Jose, ED, 1st round pick for Gay: very tepid 50%

Gay is a positive improvement to the team, but I can't stress enough that this team still needs to retain first round picks so we can continue building. Gay is good but he is not a final piece.

I know you're not a big fan of Calderon but I don't understand why Memphis isn't taking him on. He's expiring so why would it matter? Let him come off the bench and spell Conley when he's tired. Also, how do the salaries work exactly?

Ed Davis: 2.2m

Rudy Gay: 16.4m

Even if you add a third team, doesn't the salary have to be a bit closer? Are we missing some (perhaps unimportant) names here?

[Rapstor4Life]

You know with all this up roar about dont trade Davis dont trade Davis couldnt we just resign him next year? or after next season? he is a team option 4th year isnt he? or is that not allowed trading away a player and then picking them back up?

[ebrian]

Oh one other thing.. I don't know anything about Darrell Arthur but I came across an excerpt about him from a Memphis paper:

http://www.memphisflyer.com/Beyondth...er-uncertainty

Darrell Arthur missed all last season with an Achilles injury and then missed the start of this season with a more minor leg injury. Upon his return, it's taken him a few weeks to improve his conditioning and timing back to something resembling his pre-injury form. But in recent weeks he's shown why many — myself included, not to mention new Grizzlies exec John Hollinger — thought he was the team's best reserve player and one of the league's better back-up forwards before the injury. Arthur's minutes and production are both up in January — his rebounding rate up, his turnover rate down, his jumper starting to fall more.

Arthur's surface stats don't look like much — 7 points, 3 rebounds a game — but watch him closely and you'll regularly see Arthur make impactful defensive plays that don't register in the box score: Blowing up pick-and-rolls. Switching onto and containing perimeter ballhandlers. Cutting off drives and setting up teammates' steals. Racing down in transition to disrupt a fastbreak.

This month, with the injury to Pondexter, we've seen Arthur add to his resume by playing a more than passable small forward. Prior to Monday night's debacle, the Grizzlies had outscored opponents by nine points in 43 minutes with Arthur on the wing. Against the Clippers, with most of the team in the tank, Arthur fared a little better than most, and did while guarding five different players — Caron Butler, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, and Blake Griffin — over the course of the game.

Arthur was the star of that dramatic win over the Spurs, with his best all-around game since facing the sames Spurs, pre-injury, in the playoffs two seasons prior. Arthur made a series of big plays in the fourth quarter and overtime in that game: Defensive rebounds, mid-range jumpers, winning a tip against Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, and sprinting out for a transition dunk that sealed the game in the final seconds.

But his best moment was easy to overlook. In the final sequence of the game, after Rudy Gay made a pull-up jumper for the go-ahead basket, the Spurs had a chance to tie or take the lead. They ran a high pick-and-roll between point guard Tony Parker and Duncan, their two best players. And Arthur contained it: Switching onto Parker and pushing him outside his shooting range, recovering back to Duncan to deny a pass, and then jumping back out on Parker to contest the fadeaway jumper that was left to take. Three key defensive plays in a matter of seconds to preserve Gay's big shot and set-up Arthur's own dunk at the other end.

[Nilanka]

Anyone else really intrigued by a possible Lowry/Gay reunion? With them reportedly being such close friends, it could be the motivation they both need to lift their games.

[white men can't jump]

I still have absolutely no idea why any Raps fans would want Rudy Gay. I don't understand what you believe he adds to the team that we don't already have, other than an extra 2 inches and a max contract at SF. He's not a go-to scorer, he's not a great defender, his shooting stroke is deceptively smooth (because it actually doesn't go in a lot), he attacks the basket LESS than Demar....sigh....he brings nothing other than a name that for some reason has Raps fans thinking he's worth something he's not. I know Memphis has cap considerations, but really, if a 6'8" (I've read sometimes that he might actually be closer to 6'9 or 6'10) SF is supposedly an all-star and worth his contract, why would a great team WITH NO OTHER GOOD WING PLAYERS be so willing to part with him? If he were a franchise player, they would change every other position before considering trading him, but they know he's by far the most expendable and least important to what they do....

[Nilanka]

if a 6'8" (I've read sometimes that he might actually be closer to 6'9 or 6'10) SF is supposedly an all-star and worth his contract, why would a great team WITH NO OTHER GOOD WING PLAYERS be so willing to part with him?

Because they're cheap, and trust that they have enough weapons to win without him.

And make no mistake about it....nobody is claiming he's worth his contract (just like Joe Johnson). But Gay is a multi-skilled player who instantly improves this roster, and is still young enough to be considered part of the "core" going forward.

[white men can't jump]

Anyone else really intrigued by a possible Lowry/Gay reunion? With them reportedly being such close friends, it could be the motivation they both need to lift their games.

I also dont' understand the logic behind this at all. You never build a team by trying to put friends together. First off, there is absolutely not guarantee whatsoever that it makes any real difference on the court. Secondly, if it's more about locker room chemistry and such, that also is stupid, because any locker room should be friendly and together, regardless of whether any of the guys had even met each other before playing together. Seems to me like you're just looking for any reason to justify getting Gay, when really, there are none...

[white men can't jump]

Because they're cheap, and trust that they have enough weapons to win without him.

And make no mistake about it....nobody is claiming he's worth his contract (just like Joe Johnson). But Gay is a multi-skilled player who instantly improves this roster, and is still young enough to be considered part of the "core" going forward.

How is he multi-skilled? At best he's average in a lot of ways other than his body. He does absolutely nothing in a way that stands out.

[Nilanka]

I also dont' understand the logic behind this at all. You never build a team by trying to put friends together. First off, there is absolutely not guarantee whatsoever that it makes any real difference on the court. Secondly, if it's more about locker room chemistry and such, that also is stupid, because any locker room should be friendly and together, regardless of whether any of the guys had even met each other before playing together. Seems to me like you're just looking for any reason to justify getting Gay, when really, there are none...

Yeah, you're right. I'm just looking to screw the team over so Lowry can be happy.

[Nilanka]

How is he multi-skilled? At best he's average in a lot of ways other than his body. He does absolutely nothing in a way that stands out.

Are you sure you're not mistaking Rudy Gay for Rasual Butler?

Clearly, we're talking about 2 different people.

[Hugmenot]

Because they're cheap, and trust that they have enough weapons to win without him.

And make no mistake about it....nobody is claiming he's worth his contract (just like Joe Johnson). But Gay is a multi-skilled player who instantly improves this roster, and is still young enough to be considered part of the "core" going forward.

Owners wanting to make a profit? What audacity!

Questions about whether Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay can co-exist have been raised for the past year and a half and it's possible the Grizzlies found their answer.

[white men can't jump]

Yeah, you're right. I'm just looking to screw the team over so Lowry can be happy.

Or, you know, it really makes absolutely no difference.

Bosh and Jack: absolutely great friends who played together for us. Didn't elevate either's game and didn't help team chemistry.

Jose and Garbo: also great friends who played together for us. Likely their friendship didn't really influence each other's game or help team chemistry. BUT, the team was quite successful as a team with them. WHY? Because they're pros who would bring the same attitude if they had to play with their mortal enemy.

Friendship is nice....but really, it makes no difference. I find it hilarious when people use it a reason to acquire a player. Is it helpful to have a team where everyone is friendly? Yes, of course. Obviously you don't want your players to hate each other, and you want them to like each other enough. But there's also no guarantee that it helps really elevate any one player's game, or the team as a whole.

[white men can't jump]

Are you sure you're not mistaking Rudy Gay for Rasual Butler?

Clearly, we're talking about 2 different people.

have you ever even watched Rudy Gay play. Raps fans hate on Bargs and Demar for underachieving? If Gay had been playing here and been under the same scrutiny, he would've been lynched by now.

[Raptor_11]

Or, you know, it really makes absolutely no difference.

Bosh and Jack: absolutely great friends who played together for us. Didn't elevate either's game and didn't help team chemistry.

Jose and Garbo: also great friends who played together for us. Likely their friendship didn't really influence each other's game or help team chemistry. BUT, the team was quite successful as a team with them. WHY? Because they're pros who would bring the same attitude if they had to play with their mortal enemy.

Friendship is nice....but really, it makes no difference. I find it hilarious when people use it a reason to acquire a player. Is it helpful to have a team where everyone is friendly? Yes, of course. Obviously you don't want your players to hate each other, and you want them to like each other enough. But there's also no guarantee that it helps really elevate any one player's game, or the team as a whole.

True. But it's definitely a good thing when your best players are good friends, especially with Gay coming mid-season, having some familiarity doesn't hurt

[white men can't jump]

True. But it's definitely a good thing when your best players are good friends, especially with Gay coming mid-season, having some familiarity doesn't hurt

But that's also kind of stupid....people on the team fucking LOVE Jose and Ed. You'd be trading away two guys who everyone is tight with for a guy that one player is tight with.

Again, I'm not really concerned about losing people from the locker room either. Even is Jose and Ed are their friends, it doesn't mean shit will fall apart. Basically what I'm saying is it should contribute 0% to the decision making process.

[Nilanka]

But that's also kind of stupid....people on the team fucking LOVE Jose and Ed. You'd be trading away two guys who everyone is tight with for a guy that one player is tight with.

Again, I'm not really concerned about losing people from the locker room either. Even is Jose and Ed are their friends, it doesn't mean shit will fall apart. Basically what I'm saying is it should contribute 0% to the decision making process.

Nobody suggested that anyone should be building teams based on friendships. All I said is that I'm intrigued by their [potential] reunion. I'm hoping it's the motivation they both need to improve.