The Rudy Gay story which picked up some steam last night seemed to have fizzled out, with Marc Stein spraying water on the flames:
Nothing but resistance from Toronto so far on Pistons' pitch to swap expiring contracts of Rodney Stuckey & Charlie Villanueva for Rudy Gay
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 3, 2013
This doesn’t necessarily mean Ujiri isn’t inclined to package Rudy Gay out, but that he’s looking for greater returns than expiring contracts. Makes sense, Rudy Gay clearly has some value despite the albatross contract, and Ujiri is looking to mine what he can. A first round pick in next year’s draft would do it.
Further confirmation of this provided by Wolstat:
As I said, hearing if teams want Gay, they better be offering a quality package. Otherwise Raptors happy to keep their best player
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) July 3, 2013
Finally, Rudy Gay tweeted this, which is just lovely, and indicates to me that he’s had a conversation with Ujiri and is sticking around.
Lookin forward to playing a full season with the raptors
— Rudy Gay (@rudygay22) July 3, 2013
“I am excited to welcome Dan and Teresa to our staff,” said Raptors President and General Manager, Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri. “Both possess previous experience that will prove valuable to their positions and our organization.”
Tolzman will oversee all aspects of the team’s scouting department, including college and professional scouting, talent assessment and related data management. He also will provide input on personnel and roster decisions.
Resch will serve as the liaison between basketball and team business operations. She also will assist in off-court player development projects.
Resch returns to the NBA, having spent four years at the NBA League Office from December 2006 – May 2011. While at the NBA, Resch assisted the international basketball operations department in operating Basketball without Borders Camps in four different continents and was instrumental in the establishment of the first camp to feature women campers.
Word up to these people, not even going to pretend to know them. I’m sure they’re rock solid if hired by Ujiri, who I find has got his act together. At least, so far.
Some reports suggest that Weltman, hired yesterday from the Bucks, will be paid in excess of $1 million per year. I really don’t care as long as it doesn’t count against the cap.
There you have it all. Most importantly, make sure to get in on the ACC scrimmage and the ultra-great-super deal on the Raptors tickets.
