Considering his salary, this probably means they are better off without him though I don't have a very strong opinion about it. I'm just waiting for the next SamFisher Kwame showdown.
Why should anyone believe the Grizzlies would have gone further in the playoffs without the Gay trade? The Spurs were better, regardless. And Gay is probably earning around $10 million more than he's worth in each of the next two seasons. Now at least the Grizzlies have rid themselves of a bad contract.
Because Rudy Gay's alleged skillset is the type of player they need on their team. Problem is, he's very inefficient and depressed the performance of other guys like Conley and Gasol. Grizzlies need a guy similar to Chandler Parsons.
Kwame thinks Tayshaun Prince's 7 million salary is worse than Gay's 17 million. Because he is epically stupid and enjoys seeing strangers write about it I guess
Here's the second ESPN article analyzing whether the Grizz missed Rudy Gay or not since Memphis was swept, but you act like it's outlandish to even consider the issue. If that doesn't show how stupid you are, the fact that you and a few others think Tayshaun Prince is better than Rudy Gay leaves no doubt about your level of stupidity. Rudy Gay Trade Haunts Grizzlies http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/9324829/rudy-gay-trade-haunts-grizzlies
Pretty sure nobody thinks Tayshaun Prince is better than Rudy Gay, but if they do, they lack basketball knowledge. However...it's completely understandable to prefer Prince at 7 mil over Gay at 16-17 mil. Helped make them more financially flexible in the future and helped raise Conley and Gasol's level of play. However...I'd say it's pretty fair to say that it hindered their chances this year.
LOL look at the comments section on that article. Looks like mostly Memphis fans. Let's just say they vehemently disagree with you and the author.
I don't put much stock into article comments. Comment sections are human cesspools BUT, I don't think I've EVER seen such UNIFORM consensus with all commenters like that that there. Its very close to 100% NOT even agreeing with Scoop. Out of 90 comments so far, I see 1 agrees and 1 says maybe (and even the "maybe" agrees with the "moneyball approach"). All the rest of them are VERY against the article. (Compare to this Heat article where there's SOME back-&-forth non-troll discussion) http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/201...-dwyane-wade-says-chris-bosh-need-bigger-role It's pretty evident thats not just some pro-Rockets/Battier trade bias. That this is what everyone around the country thinks of Rudy Gay
90 comments = what everyone around the country thinks? Even you're better than that Shroopy2, but you don't put much stock into article comments Here's another article I posted earlier from a writer who's a supporter of the trade and even he admits they missed him: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/play...iem-130527/do-memphis-grizzlies-miss-rudy-gay Same with Bill Simmons who had to hang his head on national tv and admit the same thing.
How is this thread still alive? Let it die. Its an inefficient shot chucker on a ****ty team. What's the big deal?
Well then I guess I lack basketball knowledge then, because quite honestly I think Prince is the better player even at 32 years old. Sure there's no question Gay is way more talented, but the problem is Gay's offensive skillset is so bad he's basically a liability at both ends of the floor. RG can't hit 3s, he can't pass and he can't score in the post, all he really has is some good handles, freakish athleticism and that mid-range J of his. This means he's a horrible fit for a team like Memphis which relies on guys in the paint, instead of providing spacing he's taking shots away from Gasol/ZBO, and when they do get the ball Rudy Gay and his defender are also inside the 3 pt line making it harder to move inside. A lot of posters here talk about the Gay trade like it was a move for the future, and it is. But it also made the team better, as evidenced by their record before and after the trade. It's practically addition by substraction, less Gay mean better scoring efficiency from Zbo and Gasol.
You can put me in that bucket as well. Rudy Gay is horrible. How people are still defending him is beyond me.
I posted my stance earlier on this trade. I basically said Rudy Gay is better talent, has higher performance CEILING. He has "takeover" potential. But its THESE days that 3 out of 4 teams would make that MONEY move. (of course I'll be accused as a "fence sitter" of sorts) On the commenters consensus, I'm making a FAN-to-FAN comparison. Not so much an "article dismisser". I pointed it out cuz seriously I was actually SURPRISED at what FANS thought. I do think that CF has inherent bias against Rudy Gay. Though I thought there wouldnt be similar sentiment out there in general disproving Gay's worth, but apparently there is. Writer could be telling the truth but its commenters being bandwagon trolls. I've just never even seen trolling that consistent. Its even worse than what CF can do. That still does not NOT necessarily DISPROVE the WRITER. But its still interesting the dynamic there to me I don't take that back. OVERALL: (*) I'll make a similar comparison to the Rockets Patrick Patterson/Thomas Robinson trade. Rockets traded Patrick Patterson, and Rockets did "NOT MISS A BEAT" without Patrick Patterson. "Addition by subtraction" HOWEVER THOUGH - in THE PLAYOFFS - to ME having a REAL power forward who could spell in at backup center in Patterson was VERY much NEEDED. Jury's out on Thomas Robinson, but Patterson now is the better player and not gonna tell me that Carlos Delfino and Francisco Garcia are better playing the 4 even with the small ball stats advocacy. (Which would indicate I'd support Rudy Gay being a better playoff presence instead of Austin Daye) (*) Going back to 2006. I was AGAINST the Gay/Battier trade. I've ALWAYS hated Battier's (exact quote of mine ->) "p***y offense". I even pointed out then that in Gay's rookie season, using the same advanced stats to justify Battier, that Rudy Gay actually was a - surprise - a decent defender at THE TIME. But was overran by the "intangibles" of Battier (*) I go with semi-old school belief that in any trade, the team getting the better player or better talent wins. Its harder to tell with rookies and 1st year players cuz you don't know how they pan out (Which is how you get the Vlade Divac/Kobe trades). But its my philosophy. I wouldnt have made that trade without at least getting an extra 2nd round pick out of it. So yeah Rudy Gay opinion is too polarizing. I do think he's overpaid. I think other oft criticized non-All Star Josh Smith is better worth at his salary than Rudy Gay. Rudy Gay MAYBE coulda given Grizzlies what Rashard Lewis did for the Magic in that he "got them to the Finals!" And yes that justifies the cost. Though Rashard Lewis was still way overpaid. And money matters now. If you can put in a Ryan Anderson in place of Rashard Lewis at 10% the cost and still get 85% the production, unless you're the Lakers/NY/Boston market then a trade will possibly get explored or made. So its why Grizzlies management politics aside, I can't quite blame the move.
Kwame I guess enjoys the attention of getting donkey punched in public. No rational person would still take his position. It's the same m.o. as jopatmc, crazy Greek clown man, and a few other idiots here. Make obviously ridiculous argument in the face of overwhelming evidence, get spanked, repeat.
I think everyone agrees on this. What some people feel is that they'd rather have Gay over Prince even if Gay makes $12mil/yr more. Probably even bigger difference given the new luxury tax rules. So the question becomes, is Rudy Gay worth keeping even if it means luxury tax hell? Apparently, some people think so.
You've got to consider the Gay is still young, and will only improve his scoring ability. I don't think its a stretch to say that next year Gay will show the world he's on Durant's level.