CelticsStrong
Around the League => Around the NBA => Topic started by: ssspence on January 31, 2013, 10:59:05 AM
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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--rudy-gay-trade-shows-lebron-james-the-future--super-team-era-ending--065716242.html
As usual, a tad dramatic, but some interesting stuff here...
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Didn't realize he had beef with Hollinger. Wonder if it is a little bit of jealousy that Woj wasn't able to secure a front office job.
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Woj was trying to get into NBA front offices?
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I'll be really interested to see to what extent Woj is right. Is the era of "super friends" over, or will they just be congregating on a handful of rich teams?
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Woj was trying to get into NBA front offices?
Sorry I was just making an inference because Woj came off as petty in taking his shot against Hollinger.
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On the same topic, Chris Mannix drops the following. I particularly love the quote on Austin Daye.
"These trades are absolutely terrible," says a Western Conference scout. "Gay is a young star. He has been used as Memphis' third option this season. They hardly ran any plays for him. Prince has been finished for two years. Speights complimented [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, which Davis doesn't. And Daye can't play dead."
Across the NBA, league execs expressed surprise at the timing of the deals, too. Memphis could have waited to trade Gay and Speights until the offseason, unloading them before the punitive luxury tax penalties kicked in. The Cavaliers were always going to be there, always going to be willing to absorb some salary if Memphis shipped a first-round pick to sweeten the pot. Yet the Grizzlies were determined to hold a fire sale, hell bent to break up the roster right away, which is why Gay and Speights are gone, why $12 million has been shaved off this season's payroll and $37 million in future obligations is gone, too.
"They were telling everyone they wanted a young 3 on a rookie deal," said an Eastern Conference executive. "They didn't get that. I'm shocked they didn't demand Terrence Ross."
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As usual, a tad dramatic, but some interesting stuff here...
That's for sure. Woj gets good tips but his writing has officially worn out its welcome with me. I mean I've hated it for a while but at this point he's the worst writer in sports I think. So sensationalist.
Anyways, I think the point is interesting. But what I would say to counter is that the market may just correct itself. At the same time as the clamps on salaries are being put on, players will not suddenly want to go to smaller markets or not try to team up with talent to win titles. In reality, the era of "superfriends" may not be over at all, just everyone but the superstars will get paid less. The market will adjust.
Smaller markets could go and try to pay these players more to lure them in, but for some players, like Gay, you are basically making a stupid move and settling for mediocrity.
It's also important with a player like Gay to acknowledge that he is part of the last line of contracts, like Joe Johnson that were set up in the old financial period and through transition are having to deal with the new realities. In the future this will change. I imagine a player like Gay just won't get paid like that in a couple years.
Didn't realize he had beef with Hollinger. Wonder if it is a little bit of jealousy that Woj wasn't able to secure a front office job.
Why would you say he even wanted a front office job?
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On the same topic, Chris Mannix drops the following. I particularly love the quote on Austin Daye.
"These trades are absolutely terrible," says a Western Conference scout. "Gay is a young star. He has been used as Memphis' third option this season. They hardly ran any plays for him. Prince has been finished for two years. Speights complimented [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, which Davis doesn't. And Daye can't play dead."
Across the NBA, league execs expressed surprise at the timing of the deals, too. Memphis could have waited to trade Gay and Speights until the offseason, unloading them before the punitive luxury tax penalties kicked in. The Cavaliers were always going to be there, always going to be willing to absorb some salary if Memphis shipped a first-round pick to sweeten the pot. Yet the Grizzlies were determined to hold a fire sale, hell bent to break up the roster right away, which is why Gay and Speights are gone, why $12 million has been shaved off this season's payroll and $37 million in future obligations is gone, too.
"They were telling everyone they wanted a young 3 on a rookie deal," said an Eastern Conference executive. "They didn't get that. I'm shocked they didn't demand Terrence Ross."
Can't take seriously someone who can't spell "complement" correctly.
"And Daye can't play dead." -- what does that even mean?!
Yes, it's a knee-jerk reaction.
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Woj was trying to get into NBA front offices?
Sorry I was just making an inference because Woj came off as petty in taking his shot against Hollinger.
Ah okay, makes sense I just thought I might have missed that.
Woj has been coming across as a very petty columnist for a while now. (LBJ hate-fest of his lasted for about two years after all)
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On the same topic, Chris Mannix drops the following. I particularly love the quote on Austin Daye.
"These trades are absolutely terrible," says a Western Conference scout. "Gay is a young star. He has been used as Memphis' third option this season. They hardly ran any plays for him. Prince has been finished for two years. Speights complimented [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, which Davis doesn't. And Daye can't play dead."
Across the NBA, league execs expressed surprise at the timing of the deals, too. Memphis could have waited to trade Gay and Speights until the offseason, unloading them before the punitive luxury tax penalties kicked in. The Cavaliers were always going to be there, always going to be willing to absorb some salary if Memphis shipped a first-round pick to sweeten the pot. Yet the Grizzlies were determined to hold a fire sale, hell bent to break up the roster right away, which is why Gay and Speights are gone, why $12 million has been shaved off this season's payroll and $37 million in future obligations is gone, too.
"They were telling everyone they wanted a young 3 on a rookie deal," said an Eastern Conference executive. "They didn't get that. I'm shocked they didn't demand Terrence Ross."
Can't take seriously someone who can't spell "complement" correctly.
"And Daye can't play dead." -- what does that even mean?!
Yes, it's a knee-jerk reaction.
Maybe he meant that Maresse Speights' primary role on the team was to tell Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph how great they are.
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Woj was trying to get into NBA front offices?
Sorry I was just making an inference because Woj came off as petty in taking his shot against Hollinger.
Ah okay, makes sense I just thought I might have missed that.
Woj has been coming across as a very petty columnist for a while now. (LBJ hate-fest of his lasted for about two years after all)
Then flipped so wildly to a love fest post title.
Ugh his writing is the worst.
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On the same topic, Chris Mannix drops the following. I particularly love the quote on Austin Daye.
"These trades are absolutely terrible," says a Western Conference scout. "Gay is a young star. He has been used as Memphis' third option this season. They hardly ran any plays for him. Prince has been finished for two years. Speights complimented [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, which Davis doesn't. And Daye can't play dead."
Across the NBA, league execs expressed surprise at the timing of the deals, too. Memphis could have waited to trade Gay and Speights until the offseason, unloading them before the punitive luxury tax penalties kicked in. The Cavaliers were always going to be there, always going to be willing to absorb some salary if Memphis shipped a first-round pick to sweeten the pot. Yet the Grizzlies were determined to hold a fire sale, hell bent to break up the roster right away, which is why Gay and Speights are gone, why $12 million has been shaved off this season's payroll and $37 million in future obligations is gone, too.
"They were telling everyone they wanted a young 3 on a rookie deal," said an Eastern Conference executive. "They didn't get that. I'm shocked they didn't demand Terrence Ross."
Can't take seriously someone who can't spell "complement" correctly.
"And Daye can't play dead." -- what does that even mean?!
Yes, it's a knee-jerk reaction.
Maybe he meant that Maresse Speights' primary role on the team was to tell Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph how great they are.
It must be that, because in terms of on-court contribution, he was decidedly replaceable.
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I only care for his rumors.
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Woj was trying to get into NBA front offices?
Sorry I was just making an inference because Woj came off as petty in taking his shot against Hollinger.
Ah okay, makes sense I just thought I might have missed that.
Woj has been coming across as a very petty columnist for a while now. (LBJ hate-fest of his lasted for about two years after all)
It's the sort of details I want to read about, so if he is petty then I am glad he is. Maybe feeling that way gives him more incentive to find out actual details instead of lazily making up trade rumors like he's writing sports fanfic.
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Woj definitely took a shot at Hollinger.
I disagree with his premise that Memphis made a bad deal too.
Ultimately the new Tax only allows a handful of teams, that can get these incredibly rich tv deals, to be able to 1) make a profit, 2)fill out an adequate roster, and 3) have three max guys.
Small market teams like OKC and Memphis will never get TV deals like the Knicks and Lakers so they can't afford three max guys.
But the Laker and Knicks can have three max guys, fill the roster with some MLE level deals, and still make a lot of money.
If anything this new tax hurts the mid-markets even more because no one will dare mess with the luxury tax unless your a major market team.
Side note* Lebron James brings in so much revenue to whatever team he plays for that his team as long as he is still in demand could afford three max. level guys. He is basically the reason the Heat just got a fat tv contract. If not for his presence it likely doesn't happen, but it did, and the Heat will make a lot of money because of it.
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It's interesting that Woj seems to have such a negative view of the trade. Personally I think the Grizzlies won the trade handily. Many other (much more qualified) people in the media seem to agree with me, too.
I'll be really interested to see to what extent Woj is right. Is the era of "super friends" over, or will they just be congregating on a handful of rich teams?
I think the era -- to the extent that such an era ever really existed -- of having these "super teams" stay together for long periods of time may be over with the luxury cap penalties. But I think you'll continue to see these teams form, mainly in the major markets, and star players will give it a go for a few years to see if they can compete, and then the teams will have to be broken up to a lesser or greater extent.
That's much different than saying, however, that we're going to move back toward a time when more teams had a real "franchise" player and those stars tended to carry the burden of winning playoff series by themselves.
I think the 2-3 star model for winning championships is going to remain the dominate mode for a while, though every once in a while you'll get a team like the Mavs built around just one guy with just the right combination of really talented supporting players.
But I don't know if we'll ever see another '04 Pistons style champion.
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I'll be really interested to see to what extent Woj is right. Is the era of "super friends" over, or will they just be congregating on a handful of rich teams?
I hope the Celtics can be one of those rich teams. They did just go up to the fourth most valuable NBA team because they landed a big tv deal too.
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Levien is making these deals based largely on the recommendations of John Hollinger, a statistician who worked for a cable sports company. The San Antonio Spurs once used him as a consultant and regretfully took his advice to sign a free agent named Jackie Butler. It was such a disaster, the Spurs had to attach Luis Scola to a trade to get Butler out of town.
Yikes, Woj REALLY doesn't like how the Grizz are doing things.
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Woj definitely took a shot at Hollinger.
I disagree with his premise that Memphis made a bad deal too.
I agree he gets carried away in his assessment of the deal. Gay was never a perfect fit with Z-Bo, and I think Davis is an excellent young asset. I Prince can annoy on the defensive end and shoot 40% from deep, they've certainly not tanked their season.
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If Woj is right, and he has one of the best grasps on the NBA from a media reporting standpoint, you have to look back and seriously question the crap the owners were throwing out during the lockout about not making profits.
$525 million for the Kings? Are you telling me that sale price doesn't guarantee a profit for the Maloofs who, I am sure, made good money a decade ago when the Kings were relevant.
This Pera is ridiculous. I never like Hollinger's math regarding basketball stats and I disliked his ability to judge talent when just looking at a player or team even less. If this is who Pera is listening to, that team is in trouble.
Also, once the Griz got under the luxury tax there was no reason to trade Gay. You are dumping a chance at winning for a few extra million IN PROFIT because that's what I am sure his team was going to do, make a profit.
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I think this was another over the top hatchet job by Wojo. I will give him credit as the best insider in the business, and a great writer when he doesn't have an agenda...but I just have no taste for these hatchet jobs, where he clearly has an axe to grind (for him, or perhaps for one of his connections), and when he does these, he takes a lot of his theories too far.
For example the Spurs traded Scola to get rid of Butler's contract? Where did this come from? They traded Scola because they couldn't afford (or didn't want to pay) what Scola needed to buy himself out of his contract in Europe. But that doesn't fit with his attack on Hollinger, so he twists it.
I just wish he would stick to breaking news.
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I think this was another over the top hatchet job by Wojo. I will give him credit as the best insider in the business, and a great writer when he doesn't have an agenda...but I just have no taste for these hatchet jobs, where he clearly has an axe to grind (for him, or perhaps for one of his connections), and when he does these, he takes a lot of his theories too far.
For example the Spurs traded Scola to get rid of Butler's contract? Where did this come from? They traded Scola because they couldn't afford (or didn't want to pay) what Scola needed to buy himself out of his contract in Europe. But that doesn't fit with his attack on Hollinger, so he twists it.
I just wish he would stick to breaking news.
Yeah they traded Scola because of what his contract would require. The salary dump was only part of that deal.
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It's interesting that Woj seems to have such a negative view of the trade. Personally I think the Grizzlies won the trade handily.
There are a lot of different dimensions to consider, but Memphis just traded away their best one-on-one scoring threat. Maybe some guys can step up and the team play more efficiently in some ways with Gay gone, but Memphis has greatly reduced their offensive firepower. I just watched Michael Beasley tear up the Lakers in the 4th quarter last night. The Grizz now don't even have someone as good as the Beas in that department.
Mike
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It's interesting that Woj seems to have such a negative view of the trade. Personally I think the Grizzlies won the trade handily.
There are a lot of different dimensions to consider, but Memphis just traded away their best one-on-one scoring threat. Maybe some guys can step up and the team play more efficiently in some ways with Gay gone, but Memphis has greatly reduced their offensive firepower. I just watched Michael Beasley tear up the Lakers in the 4th quarter last night. The Grizz now don't even have someone as good as the Beas in that department.
Mike
Well, they have arguably two of the top 5 offensive big men in the league, and a highly underrated PG. If this trade puts the ball in Randolph and Gasol's hands more, then its a good deal.
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I'll be really interested to see to what extent Woj is right. Is the era of "super friends" over, or will they just be congregating on a handful of rich teams?
Yeah he makes an interesting point for sure. Teams with three superstars will never be able to field a team without hitting the tax hold and they will pay mega for it.
I mean the Clippers will be at around 50 mil with just Jordan, Griffin, and Paul. And Jordan is hardly considered a "big three" type star.
The Nets next year are on the books for Lopez at 15, Johnson at 21, Humphries at 12, Wallace at 10, and Williams at 18.5. I mean thats absurd.
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If Woj is right, and he has one of the best grasps on the NBA from a media reporting standpoint, you have to look back and seriously question the crap the owners were throwing out during the lockout about not making profits.
$525 million for the Kings? Are you telling me that sale price doesn't guarantee a profit for the Maloofs who, I am sure, made good money a decade ago when the Kings were relevant.
This Pera is ridiculous. I never like Hollinger's math regarding basketball stats and I disliked his ability to judge talent when just looking at a player or team even less. If this is who Pera is listening to, that team is in trouble.
Also, once the Griz got under the luxury tax there was no reason to trade Gay. You are dumping a chance at winning for a few extra million IN PROFIT because that's what I am sure his team was going to do, make a profit.
$16,460, 538
$17,888,932
$19,317,326
Those are the cap hits for Rudy Gay this season and the next two after that.
He is not worth that kind of money.
Yes, the Grizz got under the luxury tax this season. But given the way his cost is going to increase in the next 2 years, now was a good time to trade him, rather than when other teams know you're desperate to move him and willing to take much less in return.
The Grizz made a deal that will allow them to still be competitive this year and not have to wildly overpay Rudy Gay in the future. If I were a fan of the Grizz I'd be pretty happy about that. Rudy Gay is just not THAT good.
Plus, Woj writes this piece as though the '09 Celtics traded away KG. The Grizzlies are a nice team, and they're among the second tier teams this season in terms of competing for a championship. I can't fault the Grizz if they came to the conclusion that the Gay / Randolph / Gasol trio had reached its ceiling, wasn't a top contender, and so wasn't worth the amount of money it would cost going forward.
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I just wish he would stick to breaking news.
I agree. Woj is great at breaking the news. I don't particularly care for his opinion pieces.
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The Grizz made a deal that will allow them to still be competitive this year and not have to wildly overpay Rudy Gay in the future.
Well, they probably could have traded Z-Bo, remained competitive and gotten even more in return. They're a legitimate title contender this year and it's hard to see how this trade does anything this year except hurt that status.
Mike
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The Grizz made a deal that will allow them to still be competitive this year and not have to wildly overpay Rudy Gay in the future.
Well, they probably could have traded Z-Bo, remained competitive and gotten even more in return. They're a legitimate title contender this year and it's hard to see how this trade does anything this year except hurt that status.
Mike
I don't know. I think Prince is a significant upgrade defensively (and that is where they win games anyways), and can stretch the defense as well as Gay, to open up the floor for Randolph, Conley, and Gasol. Davis also is a very valuable piece coming off the bench that they didn't have before.
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Levien is making these deals based largely on the recommendations of John Hollinger, a statistician who worked for a cable sports company. The San Antonio Spurs once used him as a consultant and regretfully took his advice to sign a free agent named Jackie Butler. It was such a disaster, the Spurs had to attach Luis Scola to a trade to get Butler out of town.
Yikes, Woj REALLY doesn't like how the Grizz are doing things.
I think he hates the salary dump of Speights a lot more than the Rudy Gay trade.
He may also be a supporter of Chris Wallace. I've always gotten had the suspicion that Woj might have a bit of a pro-Celtics bias and this extends to having favorable views of front office personnel with Celtics ties such as Wallace and Daryl Morey and perhaps an unfavorable view of someone like Hollinger if he shares the belief of some in this forum that Hollinger had an anti-Celtics bias.
If Woj is right, and he has one of the best grasps on the NBA from a media reporting standpoint, you have to look back and seriously question the crap the owners were throwing out during the lockout about not making profits.
Well, duh. Only a fool would have taken the owners' statements about their financial viability at face value.
It's not about whether this was a good or a bad trade for Memphis. The problem is that this was a purely financial move that wasn't even done to free up money in the future to put into improving the team. That it might be good for the Grizzlies on the court is purely incidental.
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He may also be a supporter of Chris Wallace. I've always gotten had the suspicion that Woj might have a bit of a pro-Celtics bias and this extends to having favorable views of front office personnel with Celtics ties such as Wallace and Daryl Morey and perhaps an unfavorable view of someone like Hollinger if he shares the belief of some in this forum that Hollinger had an anti-Celtics bias.
This is an interesting point. And the part about Wallace being on the outs and Hollinger running the show does sound like it might be coming from Wallace.
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Well, if the Memphis trade was purely about economics, why didn't the Griz ask to take Corey Maggette back (expiring) instead of Prince (3 years, $22 million)?
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Detroit took calderon for his expiring contract , so giving up magette (expiring) for calderon (expiring) will be a moot point . Memphis probably asked for magette , detroit declined , they took prince ...
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Detroit took calderon for his expiring contract , so giving up magette (expiring) for calderon (expiring) will be a moot point . Memphis probably asked for magette , detroit declined , they took prince ...
I doubt this. Memphis wanted Prince, because they still wanted to win this year, but they thought they could replace Gay's impact with a much smaller salary slot. Maggette is cooked, but Prince is still a very good starting quality SF.
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Detroit took calderon for his expiring contract , so giving up magette (expiring) for calderon (expiring) will be a moot point . Memphis probably asked for magette , detroit declined , they took prince ...
I doubt this. Memphis wanted Prince, because they still wanted to win this year, but they thought they could replace Gay's impact with a much smaller salary slot. Maggette is cooked, but Prince is still a very good starting quality SF.
That's the way I saw it.
If it were purely an economically driven decision, Memphis would have kept Calderon or tried to flip him for the expiring contract of Maggette, who would slot into Gay's vacant position.
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Detroit took calderon for his expiring contract , so giving up magette (expiring) for calderon (expiring) will be a moot point . Memphis probably asked for magette , detroit declined , they took prince ...
I doubt this. Memphis wanted Prince, because they still wanted to win this year, but they thought they could replace Gay's impact with a much smaller salary slot. Maggette is cooked, but Prince is still a very good starting quality SF.
That's the way I saw it.
If it were purely an economically driven decision, Memphis would have kept Calderon or tried to flip him for the expiring contract of Maggette, who would slot into Gay's vacant position.
Right. Although on the other hand, it is economics, because by trading for the quality players, they have maintained their likelyhood of going deep into the playoffs, which will give them a lot more revenues this year, and with season ticket renewals for next year, that they wouldn't have gotten if they just kept Calderon.
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It's already been said, but this seems way too agenda-driven (what the heck does this have to do with LeBron coming back to Cleveland?). Memphis did this for salary purposes but they got some pieces that fit well and didn't hurt their status as a fringe contender much if at all.
It feels like Woj already had the article written and shoehorned the trade in to claim proof of his vague, nebulous premise and get a shot in at Hollinger at the same time.
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I don't know. I think Prince is a significant upgrade defensively (and that is where they win games anyways), and can stretch the defense as well as Gay, to open up the floor for Randolph, Conley, and Gasol. Davis also is a very valuable piece coming off the bench that they didn't have before.
You may be right defensively, but Prince at his peak wasn't the offensive player Gay is now and Prince has clearly been on the decline the last couple of seasons.
Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
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I don't know. I think Prince is a significant upgrade defensively (and that is where they win games anyways), and can stretch the defense as well as Gay, to open up the floor for Randolph, Conley, and Gasol. Davis also is a very valuable piece coming off the bench that they didn't have before.
You may be right defensively, but Prince at his peak wasn't the offensive player Gay is now and Prince has clearly been on the decline the last couple of seasons.
Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
Gay is addition by subtraction offensively, because his shots are just taking away better shots for Randolph, Gasol, and Conley.
For that team, the ideal SF is just a 3 point shooter, who can make teams pay for crowding the paint, and thats exactly what Prince is.
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I don't know. I think Prince is a significant upgrade defensively (and that is where they win games anyways), and can stretch the defense as well as Gay, to open up the floor for Randolph, Conley, and Gasol. Davis also is a very valuable piece coming off the bench that they didn't have before.
You may be right defensively, but Prince at his peak wasn't the offensive player Gay is now and Prince has clearly been on the decline the last couple of seasons.
Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
Gay is addition by subtraction offensively, because his shots are just taking away better shots for Randolph, Gasol, and Conley.
For that team, the ideal SF is just a 3 point shooter, who can make teams pay for crowding the paint, and thats exactly what Prince is.
This is what I was thinking.
Also, in the event that Memphis does make a run, having Allen and Prince to defend the perimeter against the Durants, Jameses, Anthonys etc. of the world is much better. Heck, Daye is a pretty good defender too.
And, the Speights deal has a much lower downside with Davis on board.
I don't get the Woj argument at all. I think there is a legitimate argument that Memphis is a more well-constructed team now. And they saved money.
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Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
That's actually a really interesting question.
In return for Gay and Haddadi, Memphis got Prince, Ed Davis, and Austin Daye.
If Boston gave up Pierce and Jason Collins for those three, how would people feel? (I don't think the numbers work financially, but assume they did.)
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Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
That's actually a really interesting question.
In return for Gay and Haddadi, Memphis got Prince, Ed Davis, and Austin Daye.
If Boston gave up Pierce and Jason Collins for those three, how would people feel? (I don't think the numbers work financially, but assume they did.)
Furious anger
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I don't know. I think Prince is a significant upgrade defensively (and that is where they win games anyways), and can stretch the defense as well as Gay, to open up the floor for Randolph, Conley, and Gasol. Davis also is a very valuable piece coming off the bench that they didn't have before.
You may be right defensively, but Prince at his peak wasn't the offensive player Gay is now and Prince has clearly been on the decline the last couple of seasons.
Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
When making this comparison, let's keep in mind that this year, Pierce is outscoring Gay, shooting a better percentage, getting to the line more often, outrebounding Gay, is a much better passer, and is a much better defender.
Look up the stats, the 2012-13 version of Paul Pierce is outperforming the 2012-13 version of Rudy Gay in every possible metric.
Let's also keep in mind that Gay's poor outside shooting doesn't help Gasol or Randolph at all while Pierce is a perfect complement for KG and Rondo.
I'd be a bit disappointed for that type of return for Pierce, who has a contract with a cheap buyout next season. I'd be fine with that return for Gay, who has a contract well above his actual performance.
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Let's put it this way. Imagine if Rondo were healthy ,and Ainge traded Pierce and the best player he got back was Prince.
Mike
That's actually a really interesting question.
In return for Gay and Haddadi, Memphis got Prince, Ed Davis, and Austin Daye.
If Boston gave up Pierce and Jason Collins for those three, how would people feel? (I don't think the numbers work financially, but assume they did.)
Yeah, but Gay isn't Pierce nor does he have the fan following in Memphis that Pierce has in Boston. Gay is 26 and STILL isn't better than a 35 year old Pierce, though, due to Pierce's decline, that margin between them is getting closer.
If I owned Gay in a fantasy league I would be ecstatic about this trade as Gay now becomes a number one option on a bad team and will probably have a pretty good uptick in his stat line. Of course, Rudy Gay as your number one option on a bad team doesn't make that bad team any better, unfortunately for Toronto.
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Memphis just decided to tank the season out of pure boredom, huh?
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The super teams will still exist, the problem with Memphis was quite simply Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol weren't a good enough trio to be called a super team, so at least one of them had to go, and in that Gay made the most sense. I mean does anyone really think if Memphis had exactly the same team except the 3 max deals were James, Wade, and Bosh, they would have made a move. Of course not. The problem wasn't that they had 3 max deals, it was that the 3 players on the max deals weren't good enough as a whole.
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Ownership didn't think their business model was sustainable with three $14m+ salaries, so they made a move now. They got a pretty decent return for a young scorer who isn't all that efficient but was being paid top of the league money. ATL practically gave Joe Johnson away this summer, and got praised for it.
At least Memphis got some usable pieces in the deal. Prince can defend Durant if they meet OKC in the playoffs, and is a steady vet who can hit the threeball. Daye may or may not amount to much, but he can really stroke the three, something this roster really needs. And Davis is a promising young big who is at least a valuable trade chip and may flourish as Z-Bo's understudy.
Speights has talent but might be have the worst basketball instincts of anyone in the league. Ellington is a generic late first round pick that floats from team to team. In hindsight, he would have been useful with Gay gone, but he's easily replaceable. Selby is a second rounder who might never sniff an NBA rotation. They made that move to get under the cap if a Gay trade didn't materialize, and had to give up a future first to make it happen. That's NBA economics, and considering how much money that move was saving them, they can just buy a future first with the savings.
Wojo's column smacks of envy, calling Hollinger a statistician in a dismissive way. Hollinger was at the forefront of using advanced metrics in the NBA, albeit as a blogger/reporter, but certainly is qualified to be in an NBA front office for analytics. Time will tell if he can handle the actual scouting aspects of the job.
Spending $16-19 million a season on a guy who is giving you 17.2 points on 16.4 shots just isn't good business. Memphis wisely cut bait on Rudy Gay.
Memphis has $30m a year tied up in Gasol and Z-Bo, and that's money wisely spent. Conley is qhite competent and affordable at $7-9m the next four years. Prince is a bit overpaid int he $7m range for two more seasons, but will add even more defensive chops to this team. His 44/40/80% shooting will be welcome too.
To me, Hollinger and Pera set up their salary structure for further improvement while still fielding a good team. Time will tell on whether they will miss Gay, but they had never won a playoff series with him in the lineup.
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It'll be interesting to see what Memphis does with that trade exception. I read it was around $7.5 million. They have a year to figure out how best to use that.
I don't think they'll do anything before the trade deadline but that could be a nice asset to use further down the road. Bring in another quality player.