I'm curious, what do you guys think the going rate for a 24 year old 6'8 20/6 player should be? I mean, this seems more like "ZOMG MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, MUST BE A BAD DEAL, LOL, LET'S PILE ON AND CALL IT STUPID!!!!" than anything.
...correct me if I'm wrong but don't the Griz just have to match the overall contract value and not the terms? When they match to retain a player, do they really have to match the exact terms of a deal?
A maximum contract for a completely one dimensional player who hasn't shown improvement in the last 3 years is overpaying the guy. He can score, but is not great at scoring. He can't make plays for his teammates, and by all accounts his defense is poor. Is a player like this worth a maximum contract? In my opinion the answer is a resounding no.
It was a terrible deal from the moment it was made. Even as a fan you have to sometimes be objective.
....considering Lebron is of similar age/specs with way better stats and a proven pedigree I would say Gay should make considerably less than Lebron.
Considering Gay signed for 82 mil and LeBron can get $120/130 from Cleveland, I'd say that's "considerably less."
Even New York could be throwing big money at Ruby Gay, it still doesn't sense for Memphis to sign him max dollar out right. Memphis can certainly wait and see New York's offer and just match whatever it comes up with. And in that case only in the worst scenario, they will have to give Gay a max contract. I don't know what crack is Memphis's ownership is smoking.
You have a point from the NBA salary cap situation but in a real world business standpoint, ponying up a lot of upfront money is a big deal. Especially if you're relatively (compared to other owners) cash-strapped like Heisley is.
Memphis isn't close to being a contender, so why offer any maximum contracts when a new CBA is right around the corner? If that means they lose Gay, so be it. Better to let him walk than overpay him. Repeat after me, you do not overpay one year before a new CBA. A smarter move would have been using him in a sign and trade for picks and younger (and cheaper) players. .
because it is a horrible deal. he needs 16 shots a game to get his 19 ppg. he doesn't create for his teammates. he isn't a good defender. average/below average rebounder for his size. good scorer, but not efficient and can't shoot 3's that well.
OP should have given Carl Herrera a chance to make this thread. He's been planning for it since the trade deadline.
gay's average salary for the reported deal: 16.32M gay's PER last season: 16.2 doesn't make a ton of sense.
significantly less than the max. it's hard to justify giving the max to anything short of a superstar or at the very least a good all-star/top 3 or 4 at their position type of player (like gasol). one reason not to give out the max like candy is that all of the contenders are going to have superstars that they are only paying the max so they are going to get much more bang for their buck. and in gay's specific case, he scores 20 and is young, but he's not lighting it up in terms of efficiency, he doesn't create for teammates (also a huge red flag when giving the max to perimeter players, IMO), and his stats have been nearly identical for 3 straight years, indicating there's no reason to believe he's about to make some jump into superstardom. you're getting a solid scorer in his prime and that's about it. that's just not worth the max.
