Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday that the Phoenix Suns, like the Raptors, have let the Grizzlies know that they are prepared to trade for Gay by packaging swingman Jared Dudley with future first-round picks. That has led some rival teams to project that the Grizzlies, as one GM in Reno put in Tuesday, could "wait until the summer" before deciding whether they're indeed prepared to break up the Zach Randolph-Marc Gasol-Gay trio. It was widely assumed around the league coming into the season that the Grizzlies' new ownership group, headed by majority owner Robert Pera and CEO Jason Levien, would look into moving Gay to lessen Memphis' luxury-tax obligations after this season and coming seasons.īut the Grizzlies, with their three top players finally all healthy and playing in unison after two player runs impacted by health matters, got off to a rousing 14-3 start and, despite fading slightly to 22-10, are generally regarded as a team capable of winning the ever-competitive Western Conference. Sources consulted in Reno during the NBA's annual D-League Showcase have described the bulk of those discussions to date to be exploratory in nature, but Toronto, as part of that process, has let it be known to the Grizzlies that its desire to acquire Gay has not waned. Grantland's Zach Lowe reported last week that the Grizzlies had begun the process of letting various teams know that Gay would be available in the right deal before the annual February trade deadline. Sources told this week that the Raptors - who tried to make a play for Gay before the 2012 NBA draft - remain seriously "interested" in the Grizzlies' leading scorer and are trying to assemble trade packages to bring the 26-year-old to Toronto after preliminary talks with Memphis.Īmong the trade chips that the Raptors are believed to be dangling, in addition to draft considerations, are veteran point guard Jose Calderon (who has an expiring contract worth $10.6 million) and young big man Ed Davis. The Raptors might not be able to swing a deal for him. The Toronto Raptors, by contrast, have definitively decided to make a real run at Gay. 21 buzzer for deals, according to NBA front-office sources. The Memphis Grizzlies have not made an iron-clad decision about trading swingman Rudy Gay before the league's Feb. Gay is attempting a career-high 5.0 threes per game while shooting a career-best 41 percent from downtown for the Jazz, all in his fewer career minutes at 19.0 per game.Are the Grizzlies considering moving Rudy Gay?
Since returning from an injury that cost him the first 15 games of the season, Gay has been the Jazz first forward off the bench behind Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale, he replaced reserve center Hassan Whiteside for two games, he’s been an off the ball floor spacer, he’s been an on the ball creator, a three-point assassin a la George Niang, and a low post option to replace Derrick Favors. Gay has had as many games (three) when he’s attempted 10 field goals or more as he has games when he’s attempted five shots or fewer. Though he’s appeared in only 12 games with the Jazz so far, his role truly seems to change every night. “But if you want to stick around and be here, I don’t know too many people from my draft are still in the NBA –longevity, you’ve got to be able to form to different roles.”
“Early in my career up until before San Antonio, I pretty much had the ball on my hands for most of the game,” Gay recalled. The forward recognizes that his willingness to change is the reason he’s still in the league 16 years after he was drafted.