http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/08/13/rudygay/index.html By Matt Winkeljohn, for NBA.com Posted Aug 13 2009 10:32AM Like many of his peers, Rudy Gay wants his piece of the pie. But Gay doesn't want a mere standard slice. Dude wants a chunk. So Gay is going big, or bigger, muscling up to 241 pounds this summer (he started last season about 222) so that he can start to wrestle with the NBA's big guys for his slice. Unless he wins a contract extension from the Grizzlies by Oct. 31, Gay will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2010. "It's a business, and although I love Memphis and it has been home for going on three years, whether I'm here or not [in the future], I'm going to go on being me," Gay said Wednesday by phone. "I just felt like I needed to fill out my body some more to bang a little bit more. And injury prevention. "I'm stronger in the upper body. I'm not going to guard Shaq, and I don't want to be Dwight," he added. "LeBron and Melo and all the guys that I go against ... eventually, I want my name to be in that mix." Yet coming off his third season as a pro, more consistency and versatility would be good things. His 18.9 points and 5.5 rebounds a game were slightly off his 2007-'08 statistics. "He can be a multi-dimensional, chess piece-type player," said Memphis general manager Chris Wallace. "He can shoot the longball, facing the basket off the elbows at 15 feet or so, he can stop, elevate and get off his shot. He can be a straight-line driver, or post up ... compete in all those areas." The Grizzlies may see another upside in Gay's upsizing. Wallace said he could play some power forward when coach Lionel Hollins goes with a small lineup and swaps Zach Randolph and/or Darrell Arthur out of that spot. "Coach and I have actually talked a little bit about me playing the 4, kind of like Orlando with Rashard Lewis," Gay said. "Although I'm a natural 3, I've moved all over. I played a little point [guard] with USA Basketball." The Grizzlies might seem more likely to work out an extension for Gay if they opt not to sign any free agents (they've been rumored to be looking at guard Allen Iverson), though adding someone like Iverson does not preclude the team from extending Gay. "We're a possibility to sign any free agent out there who hasn't signed yet, so who knows who we might sign before training camp?" Wallace said. "I wouldn't rule out anything." "We've met with his representatives, and we have ongoing [extension] talks," Wallace said. "Those processes take a life of their own. To my knowledge there have only been two extensions in his [2006] draft class, [Portland's] Brandon Roy and Andrea Bargnani of Toronto. I've heard glowing reports about what he accomplished [with Team USA].
"LeBron and Melo and all the guys that I go against ... eventually, I want my name to be in that mix." Lebron and Melo ain't gonna be Captain Mayo's wingman. You need some space to grow Rudy!
So what's he worth? Not quite a max player, but should be worth more than Marvin Williams. He'll probably get something around the Luol Deng/Andre Igoudala range, 10-12 mil a year.
Rudy Gay's ceiling is pretty much cedric ceballos. He cannot play D and his O is not good enough to be a 2nd option on a contending team, therefore any team that pays him 10-12 will basically be lottery bound or fringe playoff contenders.
Did you watch the 09 Playoffs and the Rockets? Shane made some big time shots especially in the Blazers series. To call him a choke artist is absurd. Plus, I've heard many times that Grizzlies fans feel like they lost this trade and the Rockets got the better end. Rudy Gay is literally the complete opposite of a player Shane Battier is. Rudy Gay can't do any of the stuff Battier can do except shoot jumpers. So really the only difference is that Rudy Gay can score, but he can't defend, pass, rebound, intangibles, whatever. Battier is the better player as of now, I like Rudy Gay and AT FIRST I thought we should have kept him, but after watching some Grizzlies game I feel like WE got the better end of the deal.....for now.
Rudy is younger than Battier. His potential is pretty high. He is a good scorer, though he may be inconsistent. Battier is obviously the better defender, but he is not even close to helpful in the other end compared to his defense. Rudy is worth 10 million or even more.
Its pretty obvious you have little knowledge of hoops. Weren't you the same guy that said Big O was overrated and his stats didn't help his team win games?
Well I'd say you have very little knowledge as well if you think Gay is better than Battier right now. In a few years or even next season Battier might fade, but for the past few years we have been getting the better end of the deal.
...........what? Seriously? Anyone who is worth 10 million should have minimum won something or made a team that wins more than 25 games. There's no way Gay should earn that much.
Yeah I was the same guy, and you can disagree me, but I highly doubt you ever watched him play, I didn't either, but I did a fair share of studying about him and his game to realize that he may have had eye popping stats but that didn't always help his team win. Wilt was almost the same way, even if he scored 50 one night he wasn't always going to help his team win that way. And since you are a Rocket fan, you would've watched the 1997 WCF Playoffs correct? If I recall correctly, the Announcer said Hakeem was being a ball-hog because he was averaging around 30 PPG in that series but our team was still down 2-3. So really don't question my intelligence about the game. Hakeem was the same way after the championship years. Exactly.
Let me add more reasonings to why Oscar was overrated since you brought it up. -He experienced virtually zero team success as the lead dog, and only 1 ring total. Like it or not, that counts when discussing the best of the best. Here's a comparison for you: He really was great however, could do it all nearly, not enough team success for me. Example: Kidd has been putting up good stuff too over his career, but he hasn't been doing all that well as far as the team thing, got to 2 Finals though when the East was at his worst. Oscar was overrated, but it doesn't mean he wasn't a great player. It just means people are so in love with his stats, people don't realize his flaws either.
The only flaw you've brought up is that his team didn't win enough, yet readily admit to not ever having watched him play? How can you possibly know that his teams not winning is a flaw of his, as opposed to his teams winning as much as they did being one of his strengths. I am a believer in will-to-win...but only to an extent. Put Dominique on the Bulls teams of the 90's and I don't think they win 6 championships (though probably still win a few). But put Jordan on the Clippers of the 90's and they're better, for sure, but probably still miss the playoffs more often than not. Basketball is a team game. One player can only impact the team so much. And you can discount stats all you want, but it is virtually impossible to compare players across eras. That said, basketball reference has Oscar at 6th all-time in Win Share....which is a statistic, but at least it is one which attempts to calculate a player's importance to the success of the team and winning. As for Gay, I'm not entirely sure adding on muscle is a good thing. Though I am sure that he is better than Battier and worth $10 million a year or more. He is about to turn 23. He scores over 19 ppg. He grabs nearly 6 rpg. He has some areas to improve - scoring efficiency could be better and he needs to become a better creator for others. And pretty much all players can always improve their defense. But he is a unique athlete that definitely can be a important part on a winning team...IF the rest of the team around them are in any way decent. That said, as much as people like to anoint the Thunder as the up and coming young team, and as much as the Grizzlies as an organization still sucks, Memphis still won more games then the Thunder last year, and also have a good "nucleus" with Gay and Mayo. Randolph will be productive as usual, and I like Marc Gasol's game as an average big man in the league. I continue to be baffled by their fascination with Mike Conley, don't understand the Thabeet pick and the rest of the team sucks. So, the Grizzlies will still suck. It doesn't mean Rudy Gay isn't worth $10 million+ a year. He is. Though if I'm Memphis I probably let him test the waters next summer, too, and just match whatever offer he gets.
Well, Given the fact that Al Jefferson influences the game in more ways Rudy Gay can ever imagine, Yes I would say Al Jefferson is worth that contract. Al Jefferson is one of the most underrated big men in the League, One of the best scoring Bigs as well. Rudy Gay can only impact his team by scoring and shooting, that's it. Al Jefferson can do that too, and not only can he do that more efficiently but he can also rebound the ball and he's pretty damn good at it, and He also blocks and alters shots. He may be a poor defender overall, but he's pretty good at blocking shots.
What? The same Shane that was killing the fakers and rallied the troops while Artest chucked and Yao was walking in a boot?
Shane is the only reason we took the Lakers to 7. Had Artest been guarding Kobe he would have lit us up for like 50 points each game.
