Rudy Gay Open to Potential Nets Offer.

[jerseyjac]

There's some truth to the statement that the Nets will have to overpay in order to land anyone but if someone is giving Rudy Gay the max then it better not be the Nets.

Also The Garden lure is PR bull.

From a basketball standpoint The Garden is famous for the Knicks getting shi**ed on not for anything the Knicks have accomplished...

I don't think I'd call NJ a cold-weather state either, you get a healthy mix of everything to be honest.

Its not just the "Garden", its the fact that Knick fans will come out and watch their team play no matter what...You obviously realize Knicks have a HUGE fan base, compared to the Nets...Take it from our own Nets, Devin Harris, who stated it took some getting used to play in Jersey coming from Dallas where they sold out every single game...

As bad as the Knicks have played in recent years, as much as you think you can call The Garden PR bull, when actually its considered a basketball shrine no matter how good the team who is playing there (or even watching their team lose for years vs the Bulls, Pacers, ect...)... and the fact that no matter how badly the Knicks get **** on, past, present, or future, they have DIE HARD basketball fans who will pay to watch makes a world of difference to a FA...

With that said, it is easier for a FA to walk into that arena knowing that, then say walk into Newark or Brooklyn down the line, facing the unknown...

I believe it takes a certain type of FA to come to the Nets and sign up for extended years...I believe that pool of FAs are the minority which makes my hopes a lot less vs. the avg NBA fan...still, I can see our future being very intriguing to any FA...big market, new arena and the Jason Kidd factor, setting the precedent that he was able to make it happen here...all helps improve our chances...

But I'm realist, Knicks vs Nets, the comparison in fan base is at a huge disparity no matter who has the better team...I am looking forward to the years ahead, leaving the swamp and maybe developing a new connection with metropolitan area...

[aorecchio14]

Certainly when you talk about Madison Square Garden and you refer to the Knicks, success over the years has not been there. But that isn't what makes the Garden so great.
As a fellow Knick hater like many Net fans for various reasons (arrogant homers for fans, unlikeable players over the last few years, just plain jealousy about playing second fiddle to a crummy team), even I have to admit attending a basketball game at that arena, however meaningless as it may be, is just plain different.
It isn't even all about Basketball. The history. Ali faught there. Sinatra sang there. Led Zeppelin performed there. Its just a different feel than other arenas and for whatever reason that carries over to basketball as well.
All you have to do is here Kobe gush about it. Or even Lebron talk glowingly about the building. And take a look at some of Jordan's best games; they were all in that building. I think the garden plays a much stronger role as far as attractiveness to free agents than many of us are accounting for.
I think we would love to dream about Lebron and Wade and Bosh and all these elite players wanting to sign with the team. But for whatever reason I can't see it. The best way for New Jersey to land a franchise guy will be through the draft. If John Wall or Evan Turner is that guy and we land one of the two, along with some other young talent with our other draft picks, then i dont mind throwing a max deal at someone who may not deserve it>>>like a rudy gay or a joe johnson for example,

[drivewayball]

I'm thinking Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer added to the NJ lineup would do wonders for the Nets prospects.

[pardon_my_interruption]

So with all that being said if the Nets want Gay and our boy Porky is as rich and passionate as they say he is the Nets could throw something like this at Gay:

Length: 5 years
Amount: $53 million (3% raises)*
Signing bonus: $10.6 million**
Total amount: $63.6 million
On the salary cap it would look like this:

Year 1: $12,120,000
Year 2: $12,420,000
Year 3: $12,720,000
Year 4: $13,020,000
Year 5: $13,320,000

In terms of what Gay would actually receive each year assuming the Nets structured the contract so Gay received 80%*** of his 1st year salary up front, it would look like:

Year 1: $21,600,000 ($18,600,000 on day of signing)
Year 2: $10,300,000
Year 3: $10,600,000
Year 4: $10,900,000
Year 5: $11,200,000

*Raises could be negotiated accordingly, you don't have to give the same raise each year, it's just easier to present things that way...
**The maximum signing bonus you can give is 20%. On a $53 million dollar contract it's $10.6 million
***The Blazers supposedly structured their deal with Millsap to pay 80% of the contract upfront that's the only reason I used 80%...

---

There's so much hypothetical crap that can go into this but basically what I'm saying is if you pay enough of the cash up front the Grizzlies will back out of matching (and rightfully so, I mean let's be serious here Gay getting $21.6 million in year 1 is straight out absurd BUT... I guess we'll get to see early on just how much of a basketball nut Porky is)

If the Nets were to offer a contract like that to a player the caliber of Rudy Gay they will be talked about for years to come. Rudy Gay is not worth that kind of deal in my opinion.

Of course Memphis would not attempt to match that kind of offer.

We would simply let him go...and divert our resources to upgrading the PG position and plug in a decent scorer (Travis Outlaw) at the 3 to replace Gay's production. We wouldn't miss a beat.

Rudy Gay has upside in age, but his game has not improved exponentially based on his years of NBA experience. Can he break out and become a star at age 28? Yes. Of course.

Is it likely? No.

[NetsForce]

I for the most part agree with you but I think it's worth noting that for the most part the contract I proposed is the same as the 5 year $50 million deal the Grizzlies purportedly offered except for the fact that it has a ridiculous signing bonus on it.

So it's really just a matter of how deep your owner's pockets are and how much they're willing to pay.

[Rockice_8]

I think Gay at 10-12mil per is a pretty fair deal. Do I think Memphis will match that no. The guy is a perfect fit fo rwhat we are trying to do. He's 23, which is key for our rebuilding process, he's a 20 ppg scorer night in and night out which we desperately need, and he would look great running the floor with Wall. What makes us attractive for Memphis is that we if we can land Wall then we could give them a player of need so they don't lose him for nothing (Harris). With doing the S&T then Gay's contract has little effect on our cap space (only like 3 mil).

I think a core of Wall/Gay/Lopez would be a great start for a bright future none of which are older then 23.

We still would have enough room for a max and I would make a huge push for Bosh/Boozer/Amare for the PF spot.

Wall
C. Lee (who is a good fit with his shooting and perimeter D)
Gay
1. Bosh 2. Boozer 3. Amare (In that order) I think Boozer could be had with a max or near max contract which we would have to do. Bosh is unlikely and Amare is a last resort.
Lopez

If we can somehow pull this off we would be in great shape for the future. We really wouldn't be killing our depth or losing any major assets. So we would still have some extra capspace (not much left probably only 4 or 5 mil) and still have a ton of picks and young players to make a trade for a stud SG if one becomes available as K. Martin did this year. Honestly this would be the best we could hope for next year.

[SteveNets15]

^^^^^Then all we would need is a coach to put that all together.