JVG would still trade Battier for today's version of Gay

Any team contending for the Championship needs a defensive stopper. Knowing now how the team plays together, I wouldn't change a thing. But back then, without knowing how it would come together, I'd have taken Gay.

 

How can you say that when Gay's committment to the game was in question.

I would still today make that trade.

It is not about how many points a player can score on a bad team, it is about making your TEAM better.....

Battier does that.....Rudy.....does not.

The Rockets with Battier are better than the Rockets with Gay instead.

DD

 

So basically, if you want rebuild, take young talent Gay. If want to win now, take Battier.

I think Menphis had 49-win seasons back to back before they deal Battier. They were #5 or 6 seeds. But the seaon after deal, they are below 30 wins with part time Gasol.

 

Back then, my opinion would have been with the majority. Right after we drafted Gay there were a lot of estatic happy people..then there were a lot of pissed off people after that trade was announced.

 

And JVG would get fired a 2nd time for being an obvious idiot. You got away because Gay was a rookie, that won't work because we seen Gay destroy some people and would have been the heir to MacLady

 

I would still make the trade as well....why you ask? Here are a few reasons:

1) We wouldn't have got Gay anyway!! Battier >>>>>> Sefolosha
2) We are in a win-now mode with Tmac breaking down. We couldn't wait for Gay to develop, and if we had it would have taken a while because he would have been buried on our bench by JVG.
3) We already have enough scoring, we needed a team player that brought chemistry and could spread the floor.....I'm not sure if we could have asked for any better than Shane.
4) Last but not least, the most overlooked fact, this got us out from under Swift's contract! We may not have Scola or Landry if we hadn't made this trade.

Saying all of that.....I will admit....I was at the Toyota Center that night and when the team before us didn't take Gay, I was estatic that we would be getting him!! Then the trade is made, everyone starts booing....I'll never forget Bill's words when he was on the stage with Chuck and Juwan (?)...."don't shoot the messenger!" Everyone was upset, including me! This just goes to show why JVG and CD made these decisions and not me! They may have actually known what they were doing!!!

Pugs