so now that he is officially a Raptor, when are we making the "Everything Gay" thread haha
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Gay to debut for Raptors on Sunday [Post #727]
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Rapstor4Life wrote: View Postso now that he is officially a Raptor, when are we making the "Everything Gay" thread haha
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Chr1s1anL wrote: View Post
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How much is true? Who knows.
Why the Grizzlies Traded Rudy Gay Now
Why didn’t the Memphis Grizzlies wait until after the season to trade Rudy Gay? That’s one of the biggest questions being asked after the Grizzlies decided to trade Gay to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday evening. They were already out of luxury tax territory after trading Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby to the Cleveland Cavaliers so why not wait and give their core group one more postseason to try to contend in the Western Conference?
While that’s a fair question, the answer is simple: Gay had grown unhappy with the situation in Memphis and it was time for both parties to move on.
Grizzlies brass had met with Gay last weekend and the small forward made it clear that he would welcome a trade.
Gay was also tired of hiding his frustration. While players like Mike Conley made it clear that they didn’t want management to make a trade and would be upset to see the team broken up, Gay didn’t seem like he cared what happened before the deadline. If the Grizzlies traded him, that’d be fine with him. Last week prior to the Grizzlies’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Gay was asked if he thought the front office would keep the team’s core together. He used this opportunity to voice his frustration and take a shot at management.
“It really doesn’t matter what they think about us,” Gay said of Memphis’ front office last week. “It’s all about what’s in the locker room and what we think we can do. It really doesn’t matter what they think.”
Gay was sick of the trade rumors. He was tired of seeing his name surface in report after report.
For quite awhile, Gay had told people in his inner circle that he would welcome a trade from Memphis. Last offseason, he reached out to several players on teams that were pursuing him to discuss the possibility of playing together. Gay was never too fond of Memphis. He seriously considered leaving when he became a free agent in 2010, but he couldn’t turn down a maximum extension. Gay signed for the money, not because he was attached or in love with Memphis.
Also, the Grizzlies were concerned that if they waited until the offseason to trade Gay, he would be able to hold the team hostage since he has a player option for the 2014-15 season. If Gay decided he was going to opt out of the final $19,317,326 of his contract to sign a new long-term deal, he would have some control over where he landed since he could scare teams off by refusing to make a long-term commitment. The Grizzlies didn’t want this situation to mirror what the Denver Nuggets had to go through when they traded Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was in the final year of his contract and he refused to commit long-term to any team other than the New York Knicks, which left Denver with limited options.
Another aspect that has been overlooked is Gay’s shaky relationship with Zach Randolph. Behind the scenes, Gay and Randolph had butted heads for quite awhile. While Gay and Randolph tolerated each other, they weren’t close and had several spats over the years.
There were a lot of things happening behind the scenes that forced the Grizzlies’ hand. Gay was already upset with the trade rumors and delaying the inevitable would have made things worse, especially considering their options could’ve been severely limited if Gay played his cards right. Not to mention, Gay and Randolph had butted heads, so it’s not like the Grizzlies broke up a perfect team that was guaranteed to make a deep postseason run. This was a dysfunctional situation.
Now, the Grizzlies not only shed some salary, but they also acquired Tayshaun Prince, who is a good fit in Memphis, as well as a very promising young player in Ed Davis.
This was the right time to trade Gay, even if it seemed questionable from the outside looking in.
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It'll be a great test for us, although, team will be unsure as so will Rudy Gay be with the system.
We'll either get destroyed, or play very well like last time.Twitter: @ReubenJRD • NBA, Raptors writer for Daily Hive Vancouver, Toronto.
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