Grizzlies and Zach Randolph agree to 4-year, $71 million

This is an argument that grizzlies fans have debated countless times before management signed Gay to a long term deal.

Basically it comes down to this: we have a better shot at hoping gay can become a superstar than we have of luring an established superstar to memphis. When you put it in those terms it was quite clear the choice was a no-brainer.

I personally don't feel that Gay is that far off from KD, but I can also certainly see why people would see that. The problem isn't in gay's skill set, if you've watched rudy gay for any amount of time you could not possibly come away with the impression that Gay lacks a skillset (ball handling nonwithstanding of course) that other superstars have.

The bigger issue is that Gay doesn't seek to put his team on his back and win games. Rather he is content to let the game come to him. Whereas KD and Co. they do try to do that, or they have to do it.

The test for gay which many grizzlies fans were hoping to see is how he would respond to a playoff game. On a side note, many of the grizzlies high profile matchups, gay has come to play, but you hardly ever see gay come down and demand the ball every time down court. But when you look up you often see that at the end of the gay he has amassed 28 quite points. It is pretty crazy really.

 

The rationale for the Gay and Z-Bo contracts makes sense. I guess they are gambles the Grizzlies have to take to maximize their chance to be successful.

Gay is far off from KD. Their mentalities and approaches to the game are totally different.

 

Totally agree - they aren't in the same class.

Durant is an amazingly effortless scorer, despite defenses geared to stop him. Gay is a nice #2 option.

 

That's all well and good, but that's what separates the good teams from the great ones. If you're content with getting into the playoffs and making extra buck, you may end up being first or second round fodder every year. As a fan, I'm not satisfied with playoff appearances only.

 

http://twitter.com/geoff_calkins/statuses/60063850380263425

In case there were any doubts.

 

I remember when he used to be on the jailblazers and everyone used to hate on him..good for him hes def a great player in this league now

 

No doubts that they want to keep him.

But if the new CBA really does come with a hard cap, or even a harder cap, they're going to be hard pressed to give him market rate ($9M+). If Bird Exception stays untouched, they'll keep him for sure.

 

The Grizzlies likely overpaid. Sure, Z-Bo would generate a great deal of interest in free agency but there's absolutely no way anybody besides Memphis would have offered him $18M per year. Especially with the uncertainty a new CBA brings.

I say this as an Atlanta Hawks fan with experience dealing with the matter. How so? The Hawks faced the same exact predicament last summer and ended up giving JJ $30M more over the duration of the contract than anybody else could/would have.

Overall, I guess when faced with the lose-him-for-nothing threat teams are likely to buckle in these situations. And let's be fair: Z-Bo is their best player and has more than earned another lucrative contract. I just think they paid a little too much.

 

Do you want elite NBA talent?

If yes, you need to be prepared to pay for it.

 

This is exactly right. Players like Gasol and Randolph aren't a dime a dozen and to keep them you are going to have to pay out the nose. That's just the way it is.

 

That is the point I was trying to make: namely that one of the key elements of the so-called elusive transitional superstar, the ability to be unguardable at the end of games, gay possesses. It is an extremely important point because that's what every championship team has to have an honest to goodness true go-to guy in the clutch, gay is that guy for us.

 

There are some awesome Houston fans on this website. I'm sorry that there are some who arent!

As a Grizzlies fan who suffered through three of the worst years a sports fan could possibly endure, I understand what it's like to be down on spirit. But I had to register and straighten a few things out:

- Zach Randolph is not going to revert to the Zbo of old. He has been embraced in Memphis like no other place he's ever been. Memphis showed their appreciation for him from the very beginning. Made him feel wanted. Because of this, he decided to make it a mutual thing and drop weight while coming into training camp with a fresh mindset. Lionel Hollins has had an unbelievable impact on Zach as a player and as a person. He's a pillar of the community and he's the main reason why the Grizzlies enjoy the moderate success it currently has.

- The signing of Zach Randolph in no way indicates Marc Gasol not being extended/re-signed. One of the main reasons Zach re-upped with Memphis is the fact that he was ASSURED that Marc would be a Grizzlie beyond this season. The two of them have maximized eachothers games. It is most certainly in both of their interests to continue doing so on an up and coming Memphis Grizzlies squad.

- The Grizzlies aren't going to MAX out. They improved this year by 6 games and that includes 2 games of tanking at the end plus melt downs against the likes of Cleveland, Sacramento, New Jersey, Washington, etc. The team has evolved so much since the start of the new year. With their 35-17 record, They have a better record than the Spurs (34-18) since that point in time. The Grizz and Spurs are more evenly matched than one cares to admit.

I understand there is some bad blood between the Grizzlies and Rockets. We stuck you with our deadweight while picking up a veteran who is helping us compete for a playoff series victory, you guys have owned us the past 2 or 3 years particularly, we fleeced you on the Rudy-Battier trade, you guys fleeced us on the Lowry trade, etc. But let's try not to tear down the Grizzlies success level right now just because the Rockets didn't have what it took to get the job done this year.

With some savvy moves, you guys will be right back in the conversation. But this thought that the Grizzlies have reached their peak is just downright laughable. With the same team next season, the Grizzlies are a 50+ win team without question and regular contenders for home court in the playoffs. With Dallas, San Antonio, and LA bound to fall off because of age in the next year or two, the Grizzlies have a great young core that strikes fear into every team in the NBA. They will be right up there with Oklahoma City very, very soon. The Grizzlies aren't much different from OKC. The major difference is the simple fact that Memphis is a year behind OKC. The Grizzlies of this year are what the Thunder was last year.

With a young team, we're only going to get better. We'll improve over the offseason and be one of the big time gunners next season, without question.

 

In two years, Randolph will now be the 5th highest paid player.

Hows that contract feel now?

 

It feels like we'll still have one of just very few 20/10 players.

 

Question for what, MemphisX or any other Grizz fan:

How much do you think Gasol is worth?

I only ask because I'm a bit surprised by all the praise he's received here. I know he's a solid player that's relatively young. I just also can't help but notice a season in which his production dropped and it seems like one playoff game against the Spurs is enough to make everybody forget.

So I'm just asking your opinion. How much do you think he's worth and do you think the reason for his drop in production is the Nene/Melo factor (i.e. Melo eats up so many points/rebounds that it adversely affects Nene's numbers the same way Z-Bo's game might with Gasol's)?

 

A playoff win.

Listen, we're going to sign him to a 10 to 13 million a year contract. That's about the going rate. If i had to guess it will be something like 5 yr 60 million dollar contract.

The grizzlies will get this done. Have confidence.

 

If you do that, what happens to Mayo? Is he even in the plans of the Grizzlies over the long term?

 

Fair enough. So does his so-so regular season production concern you at all? I only ask because that $10-13M figure could very well equal his PPG average in the future. I'm curious if that concerns you at all. I'm equally curious as to why his production dipped (i.e. the Nene-Melo affect I referenced earlier or maybe something else).