Hence you do it the other way around. Rudy Gay is an All-Star level player. Once we fill out our remaining capspace, we wouldn't be able to get any remotely as good as Rudy is. Can't believe people are saying no to a bunch of scrubs for Rudy Gay. SMDH.
Except they aren't just fine. That team is "complete". Three to four years down the road, when the Rockets have completed the Harden era roster, would you want the Rockets to be at the level the Grizzlies are at now? Of course not. That is the whole point. You cannot build a championship roster while paying Rudy Gay 19 million dollars.
wait a minute, didn't this team just barely get beat out of the playoffs last year by the eventual conference champs. its still early edit: sorry the clippers
The point is that the team is better off keeping its players and, more important, $15M+ in summer 2013 cap room than to have Rudy Gay and no cap room. With an already competitive core and a young star in Harden, HOU is going to be a desirable destination for free agents (and upcoming free agents who want out of their team). So, max-level cap room can very well translate itself into an elite level player sometime in the next couple of seasons, particularly since many of the more desirable locations (LA, NY and MIA, etc. ) are already capped out. You have a realistic shot at the true top-20 level guys and can likely have a Millsap or Josh Smith (both of whom I regard as better than Rudy) as long as you are willing to pay salary similar to Rudy's, maybe even less. Trading for Rudy Gay is now is like taking a contested pull-up 20 footer with 15 seconds on the shot clock. Why do it when there is plenty of time to find something better and you get the same quality shot later in the shot clock, too.
yes, the team would be more complete getting rid of rudy gay's contract, they could sign kevin martin and a bench player.
With Harden at the SG, clearly Martin is not a top HOU target in free agency. So, how do you think Rudy Gay compares to Paul Millsap and Josh Smith, two of the better non-SG free agents? (Leaving out Howard and CP, these two are clearly the best of the upcoming class).
i was referring to memphis, not talking about possible trades, just an example. and i wasn't being sarcastic, they probably would be better with kevin martin or a six to eight million dollar type shooting guard who doesn't rely on creating his own shot.
The only thing Rudy Gay has at an all star level is his salary, he's not that much better than that garbage contract for Rashard Lewis signed all those years ago. He's an 18ppg inefficient scorer that doesn't really do anything particularly well but looks really flashy when he does it. He doesn't do it badly either though, if he could pick his shots better, he'd be a decent glue guy, basically a lesser (and higher paid) version of Iguodala or Granger.
Even if MEM gets rid of Gay's contract and taking $0 money in return, they are not unlikely to have meaningful cap room in the upcoming couple years given their other contracts. So, unless they actually trade him for Kevin Martin, they are unlikely to get Kevin Martin.
Both Harden and Gay need the ball in their hands to thrive... JR Smith just loves to chuck and slash Ray Allen loves moving without the ball and coming off screens/picks Dwyane Wade and Lebron James? They can do everything, and Wade has let LEbron do most of the ball handling now... but yes, Maybe Gay-Harden can work if Gay can play off the ball more..but right now he's struggling in Memphis to do just that
Gay vs Parsons career per 36 min Gay PPG 17.9 RPG 5.7 APG 2.0 FG% 45% 3pt% 35% TS% 53% PER 16.2 Parsons PPG 12.7 RPG 6.1 APG 3.1 FG% 45% 3pt% 34% TS% 53% PER 13.7 Chandler is better defensively and more of a playmaker which isn't really factored into PER. so we're supposed to pay an extra 16 million for a guy that is at best only slightly better than the guy we already have. This isn't even a realistic suggestion because morey would never even consider something this stupid, I wouldn't take him if the Grizz tried to give him to us. Good not great player, financially crippling. You didn't see most of us complaining when Harden made bank, because we knew only players of his calibur are worth it
Anybody who thinks Morey would trade two weeks smelly garbage for Rudy Gay and his contract is delusional. I like Rudy a lot because he's a nice guy and is easy for me to root for. It isn't his fault the Grizzlies gave him that stupid contract. But the fact is his value to the Rockets is not even nil, it's negative. Morey knows he can spend $18 million/year a lot better.
There's a fundamental flaw in your argument. We don't want to pay for Rudy Gay because he's not "quality," not because we're pinching pennies. Your like the kid in the dollar store that wants the first shiny thing he sees, regardless of the long term outlook.
One last tidbit from Woj Will Memphis really trade Gay? "They've been shopping Gay hard over the last couple of weeks. The focus in Memphis is getting under the LT. Heisley was willing to spend and spent big money to keep his (core). You have a new owner, they made it clear internally that getting under the LT is important. Very good chance they move him or one of their (other) big salary guys. They don't believe they're a championship contender. They're the Hawks of the West. Interesting to watch this Memphis group."
