It’s a potential mid-to-late lottery pick, a valuable commodity, and when Memphis dealt it along with Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington, the general assumption was the pick was the price they paid to duck this year’s tax and keep their starry core together another few months. That first-round pick headed to Cleveland looms large here.
In the last eight days, Memphis has shaved about $12 million from its payroll for this season, surrendered a first-round pick, and given themselves a bit of breathing room in building next season’s roster around the Zach Randolph-Marc Gasol duo.
#RUDY GAY TEAMS HE PLAYED FOR FULL#
But part of the answer to the first question - how good is Gay, really? - will unfold right away in Memphis, where a fringe title contender has dealt away its most dangerous perimeter creator for a player in Tayshaun Prince who is the NBA embodiment of “meh.” The Grizzlies obviously did this with an eye toward cleaning up their long-term financial picture - both ducking the luxury tax and putting the full mid-level exception back in play - but they’re also wagering that swapping Gay for Prince won’t demote them from “fringe contender” to “first-round roadkill.” It’ll be fascinating to see if they’re right.īut here’s what we know for sure, on a team-by-team basis: Memphis Grizzlies Those questions will take years to answer, which is part of the fun here. And those issues almost all surround Rudy Gay: Just how good is he? Within what sort of roster might he jump up a level as a player and become something closer to the All-Star he probably thinks he is? And can Toronto provide that roster?
What makes the Grizzlies-Raptors-Pistons blockbuster so exciting is the air of mystery about the long-term, on-court implications of the deal.