Lowe says that Gay has been made available for trade.
All of this explains why Memphis, over the last few weeks, has made it known in preliminary talks with other teams that Rudy Gay could be available via trade, according to sources around the league.
The Raptors included among "sensible candidates" for Gay, should he be dealt.
Boy, have injuries complicated things for a team that has long kicked around the idea of acquiring Gay. Jose Calderon won Kyle Lowry’s starting job when Lowry got hurt, and Calderon’s expiring $11 million deal is an easy fit in almost any 2013 mega-trade — even if the Grizzlies already have Mike Conley logging heavy time at Calderon’s position. Andrea Bargnani isn’t a fit in Memphis, but injuries to Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas have made dealing one of the Amir Johnson/Ed Davis duo a bit dicier.
Still: It’s easy to build a number of deals that get Memphis under the tax around Calderon and spare parts on either side. Whether Gay fits next to another non-shooter in DeMar DeRozan is a fair question, but the Raptors might be in that Milwaukee boat — unlikely to land a can’t-miss foundational star in free agency, and so willing to roll the dice on a “B” guy via trade.
This also might be the ultimate litmus test for Memphis: If a Calderon-centric deal is ultimately the best one they can find ahead of the trade deadline, do they just keep Gay and try to slough off $4 million elsewhere — or just swallow hard and pay the tax?
The latest:
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--suns- ... nM-;_ylv=3
The Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns are engaged in trade talks centered on forward Rudy Gay, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The Grizzlies have been shopping Gay to multiple teams, and found an interested trade partner with the Suns, sources said.
There's no framework of a possible deal in place, but the Grizzlies have expressed a strong desire that any package involving Gay include Suns forward Jared Dudley and future first-round draft picks, sources said.
In an effort to avoid paying luxury tax in the short term, as well as get off the $16.8 million and $19.3 million owed Gay in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, new Memphis management has aggressively shopped Gay. The Grizzlies have made proposals on Gay to several teams, front-office sources told Yahoo! Sports.