Memphis Thinks They got the Worst of the BATTIER/GAY Trade!!

Gay is overrated. All the guy can do is score...doesn't pass well, doesn't defend, doesn't rotate on defense...

He would have helped with scoring but killed us on the defensive end. The guy put up good scoring numbers on terrible teams... *yawn*

 

Shhhhhh...don't be talking basketball sense....the Athleticheads don't want to hear it.

DD

 

just remember if rudy gay was our rookie would he have played as much as he did?

 

or c) they really REALLY like flashy dunks.

 

Does anybody remember what Gerald Green said about the difference in practice between the Rocket's and the Timberwolves? He said the Rockets practices were much more serious than the Wolves because they had something to play for. I think its the same thing in Memphis. I think Gay would've been more well rounded here because of the make up of the team and the emphasis on defense.

 

Almost certainly no. But lots of things could have been different. Maybe we trade Stromile and filler for a for another veteran defensive wing that JVG trusts more. Maybe we trade for Wells, but this time JVG plays him more because he doesn't have Battier to fall back on.

It's hard to go back and time and figure out how much better/worse things would have been. I don't think Gay would have been a major rotation player with us as a rookie. But who really knows.

 

well he certainly fits in with not winning playoff series.

 

considering our history of injuries. yes, he wouldve played and maybe learned how to defend a little better.

 

Durvasa, there were a lot of factors that went into the submarine job by memphis and the uptick of the rox.

Gasol missing the 1st 30 games and firing fratello did them in. Yao and Tracy missing all those games from a 50 win team. If the 2 guns didn't miss those games, they win 50 games again. If jerry west offers u a trade, u kight as well grab ur ankles.

 

So you think they basically tanked after losing Gasol? Because with him playing that year (mostly under Barone), they were still miserable: 1-7 under Fratello, playing between 20-30 minutes, and then 16-35 under Barone. Then in the next season, they were 9-30 when Gasol played. Still tanking, perhaps?

As for the Rockets, attributing the difference in wins merely to presence of Yao and Tracy is overly simplistic. Let's look at their number of missed games:

Code:

	 [B]Yao    Tracy   Combined   Wins[/B]
04/05     2       4        6        51
05/06     25      35       60       34
06/07     32      11       43       52
07/08     27      16       43       55

You're right, if they played close to a full season in 05/06, they probably win around 50. But in 06/07, they combined to miss 43 games, and the team still won 52 games. Doesn't that tell us that the rest of the team must have improved quite a lot compared to 04/05?

 

Stop with all the Jerry West talk. Yes he was great in his day and he stole Kobe that draft night, but its not like he has been some superstar GM lately. Here are some of his recent first round picks (Troy Bell, Hakim Warrick, Dahntay Jones). A guy who did nothing in the league, a guy who is a backup and even though Jones started some for Denver this year he is a career backup.

You can give West credit for turning the crappy Grizzlies into the playoff Grizzlies, but then you must also give him blame for turning them back into the crappy Grizzlies again (Yes they were crappy before Gasol was let go by the new guy)

 

Actually, the center pieces of the playoff Grizzlies, Gasol and Battier, got there before West.

 

The fact that we're even comparing Gay and Battier at this point in his career is impressive. The guy is what 22, compared to Shane being 30. Shane was probably still at Duke around that age.

If we don't make any noise in the playoffs soon, I think the Grizzlies clearly got the better of this trade.

Sure at this point in Rudy's career he isn't much more than a perimeter scorer/rebounder but i'm shocked that people downplay the ability to score when efficient scoring is such a huge problem with this team.

 

Trade Artest to them for Gay.....that way they get a better version of Battier and we get Rudy Gay...

DD

 

I'm not a big fan of Rudy Gay at all. I don't think his upside is that high and doubt he will ever take the step into being a star player. In fact, after only 50 games, O.J. Mayo has already emerged as the top dog and most untouchable player on that team.

With all that said, Grizzlies fans have to be crazy if they regret the Battier trade. Shane wouldn't have made any difference at all because that franchise was doomed to live with the decisions of it's pathetic owner.

 

Well, Gay is going to be off his rookie contract soon. So if we did think he was all that we could sign him as a FA.

 

Durvasa, when a young team loses its best player and fires the coach, they normally go downhill. Phoenix in 03 made the playoffs. The next yr amare was out, the coach got fired, marbury was traded and by the time amare came back, they were in the lotto.

Some poster was talking about west, west got there right before the ming draft and after the draft he was disappointed with the info provided to him by the scouts. He never wanted gooden, but drafted him at the discretion of the scouts. BTW, I don't need to defend jerry west record as a gm. The proof is in the pudding. 8 rings and the most consistent team in 30 yrs when he was gm.

 

Shane Battier is the anti-Horry. The dude plays hard all season and does nothing in the playoffs. He like Tracy McLady has never been out of the first round of the playoffs. His playoff averages are generally worse than his regular season numbers especially. Shane Battier is anti-clutch.

Horry on the other hand coasts during the regular season and has 7 rings to show for it. He has never lost in the first round of the playoffs and has made numerous big shots.

 

That doesn't explain why they remained a horrible team in year 2, when Gay was in his second year, and they still had Gasol and Miller.

Bottom line, a trade can't be deemed successful if it doesn't result -- somewhere down the line -- in wins. Maybe the Grizzlies were destined to suck for the forseeable future with or without Battier because of ownership, as A_3P0 suggests. If so, the best we can say is the trade was inconclusive on their end. If Gay can eventually become a key contributor to a winning team for them, or he's traded for other players that make them winners, then maybe we can say they did alright. Until then, in my opinion the jury is out.

 

Horry played with Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan on generally loaded teams, that's why he has the rings.

As for him "turning it on" during playoffs?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/horryro01.html

Statistically, he's about the same. The guy is just a very good role player who was put into the right spots to shine.