Yeah, it sucks when a team self-limits its potential due to financial reasons. I'm sure all the Bruins fans (at least those prior to the last couple of lockouts) can relate to what the Grizzlies fans are experiencing.
Considering they have new ownership and a new stats guy heading the player decision-making, I'm not sure money is the main thing driving this decision.
Rather, I think the new guys come in and they say, so we're paying a lot of money for a team that's good, but how good can they really be?
I think somebody like John Hollinger says, well, they're basically at their ceiling right now. If you want me to really do my thing, then we have to tear this down a bit and start fresh, perhaps holding onto Conley and Gasol because they're still relatively young and not too overpaid.
I imagine Hollinger wants to build a team based on efficiency, both in terms of production and in terms of how much a player is paid. He also probably wants to get some pieces in place that are more bankable long term, whereas he probably looks at Randolph and sees a guy who will probably decline quickly, and views Gay as a cap albatross.
It does suck for Memphis fans in the short term, but I think there's good reason to believe the new management has plans for the team that will make the fans happy. I'd compare it a little bit to how Danny Ainge came here and took apart a team that was pretty good but really very limited in how far it could go. Took a bunch of steps backward, but eventually the team took a major leap forward.