Heisley: No Current Plans to trade Rudy Gay

[jman3134]

Fair enough. But I still wouldn't trade Rudy Gay NOW. I think that if Gay is traded, you might as well trade the rest of the core and start over with Selby and Wroten because this team cannot beat LAL or OKC without Gay. And if there's one thing I'd like avoid, it's being a treadmill team. That is not smart management.


MEM can't wait on is Zach Randolph. In possibly the most talent laden position in the NBA, MEM can't afford to have 70 million dollar Zach play poorly again.


I had an idea for a trade a while ago. It was going to send Z-bo to PHI, Iggy to UTA, and Millsap to MEM. I'm kind of upset it didn't happen.

Millsap is on the last year of his contract. And Utah most likely will not keep him with their overloaded frontcourt. Millsap is just as productive as Z-bo while being a lot cheaper.

That first statement does not even make a little sense. Why would you trade your whole core and start over when you finished as a top 4 seed in the west with your best player injured most of the season? And yes, Randolph is our best player- let's hope he returns to his usual form.

I was all on board with the idea that we cannot beat OKC or any other very good team without Gay's services. However, this notion became suspect after his performance this past season against the LAC. He was totally out of sync with the offense and was the BIGGEST reason we lost. Not Randolph's injury, not OJ Mayo....

Why in the world would we get rid of the man who led us to the first round win for Paul Millsap? That is, unless his ACL/MCL injury is not healing and he is going to remain the player we saw at the end of last season. And, in that case, no one else will want him either for their star player.

"Starting over" may have begun with departure of Mayo and entering last year of Tony Allen's contract. Throwing in Cunningham, Speights, and Pondexter with Selby/Pargo we really had a different team last year than the previous.

These are bench players but the 2 and the 4 are suspect with Speights and Arthur both being resigned despite presence of ZBO (I don't see us rushing out to get backups for Marc Gasol like that or Mike Conley or Rudy Gay). Then how to fill those vacancies? Pray you get a gem drafting in late 1st round of draft???? Free agent? (Allen Iverson / Michael Redd / Gilbert Arenas - not happening: Ray Allen and Jason Terry the latest to turn us down). Or Trade?

Starting over certainly has not begun. We resigned Marc Gasol and determined that OJ Mayo was not worth the money. We also resigned Speights and Arthur from our core. Tony Allen is a must to resign and I am sure that the organization understands just how important he is. If they don't, I will continue to dislike our management, only more vehemently now.

4 is not suspect at all. We can go small and play Speights/Arthur at center alongside Randolph if that's what we decide. To me, the biggest loser in terms of minutes will be Speights. But, his production was very good last season and let's hope that it lasts.

I'd hate to lose Rudy Gay especially since it's the only current player jersey I own!
And the way he played against the Clippers he basically carried the team on his back on some of those games while the rest disappeared. I think all this is moot anyway since Rudy's a bit overpaid.

I think the fact is we can't expect to get much more than Cunningham or Wayne Ellington level player from free agency..... so we have to be creative. Like trading Kevin Love and Mike Miller for OJ MAYO and marko Jaric!! (that trade isn't any more crazier than a trade of Rudy Gay at this point and for us it worked out great in the long run)

Once we start coming to grips with the fact that Rudy Gay was the sole reason we lost in this year's playoffs, then we can move on and find someone who better suits our team. All he can do is shoot over the top of guys posting up and dribble around for an hour looking for his shot. He completely disrupts spacing and cannot function as a kick out shooter, as demonstrated by his paltry percentages in this past year's playoffs. He never carried the team on his back- the game you are thinking of he shot us out of the game at first and then hit a handful of shots to get us back in. He was a high usage, low efficiency player and the weak link on our team in last year's playoffs.

I will stubbornly continue to hope for a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for Gay swap.

[Marvin Martian]

That first statement does not even make a little sense. Why would you trade your whole core and start over when you finished as a top 4 seed in the west with your best player injured most of the season? And yes, Randolph is our best player- let's hope he returns to his usual form.

Gasol is our best player. Best shooter, better playmaker, better athletically, and a better defender.

I was all on board with the idea that we cannot beat OKC or any other very good team without Gay's services. However, this notion became suspect after his performance this past season against the LAC. He was totally out of sync with the offense and was the BIGGEST reason we lost. Not Randolph's injury, not OJ Mayo....

OJ Mayo completely disappeared against LAC, and thus 80% of our bench production. The abysmal play of our bench, OJ, and Randolph is what lost the series. None of this happened 2 seasons ago.

I'm not in favor of trading Gay and putting the ball in the hands of a small, inconsistent, and unproven backcourt when we are in desperate need of OFFENSE. Z-bo is not a stretch 4 and cannot do everything. He never did and never will.

[jman3134]

Randolph certainly did do everything for us the year before. He alone led us through our scoring droughts and willed us past the Spurs. There's no other way to describe it.

Look, there's no question that OJ had a very bad series shooting the basketball. However, he was great on D, which is more than can be said for Rudy Gay. He was not efficient, but he shot the ball less. Rudy was hoisting 16 shots a game, connecting on 42% of them and shooting 21.1% from beyond the arc. I have been his biggest advocate over the past few years, but there is no arguing with this abysmal production. He did nothing positive on the defensive end, and only showed up when the coaching staff gave him the ball and told him to create his own shot. He can do this, but his reliance on 1 on 1 basketball makes for very inefficient shots in the playoffs. He needs to work off his teammates, as he has awful chemistry with them unless they are cleaning up his misses. Gay refuses to function as a spot up shooter, which is a major reason why we went through such terrible droughts in the playoffs.

Mayo was bad on the offensive end; however, he made less critical mistakes besides the end of the closeout game when we were already about to lose. Gay made our offense completely out of sync and he is completely useless without the ball in his hands. Couple that with similarly bad production from Randolph (who was still adjusting post-injury) and you have the worst of all worlds. We got rid of Mayo, and Rudy could be next if he doesn't shape up. (or if we field the appropriate offer)

[Marvin Martian]

Randolph certainly did do everything for us the year before. He alone led us through our scoring droughts and willed us past the Spurs. There's no other way to describe it.

Are you going to pretend that OJ Mayo did not make timely plays that year? Or that Arthur wasn't playing? Or that Gasol took a postseason vacation?

A lot of people stepped up that year, not just Z-bo. And I guarantee you that this team would not have made as far as they did without their contributions.

Look, there's no question that OJ had a very bad series shooting the basketball. However, he was great on D, which is more than can be said for Rudy Gay. He was not efficient, but he shot the ball less. Rudy was hoisting 16 shots a game, connecting on 42% of them and shooting 21.1% from beyond the arc. I have been his biggest advocate over the past few years, but there is no arguing with this abysmal production. He did nothing positive on the defensive end, and only showed up when the coaching staff gave him the ball and told him to create his own shot. He can do this, but his reliance on 1 on 1 basketball makes for very inefficient shots in the playoffs. He needs to work off his teammates, as he has awful chemistry with them unless they are cleaning up his misses. Gay refuses to function as a spot up shooter, which is a major reason why we went through such terrible droughts in the playoffs.

I don't think anyone would consider OJ Mayo to be a lockdown specialist guarding who knows. Besides even if he was, it isn't his job. That is Allen's assignment. OJ's job was to create instant offense and he failed miserably.

We went though terrible droughts because once again our bench could not match theirs. Our only decent bench player, OJ Mayo was a brick/turnover waiting to happen. Arthur was not there. Selby wasn't ready. Pargo sucks. Q pon was invisible.

I'm not making excuses for Gay. I do believe he needs to take smarter shots. He needs to slash to the bucket more often. However, I won't fault him for not being a spot up shooter. What else are you supposed to do when Conley spends 20 seconds trying to force feed Z-bo, only to give the ball to Gay at the top of the key and make him chuck up contested jumpers.

You can't be a spot up shooter when your front court isn't playing well enough to draw double teams.


What I'm saying here is that Gay (as well as other players) can be better utilized in the offense. If our success continues to hinge solely on Z-bo's erratic jumper then this team is in serious trouble.


Let's stop treating Z-bo like a superstar and remember that there are other players on the team who are capable of doing more. Design set plays for Rudy instead of iso nonsense. More Rudy-Gasol give and go. Allow Bayless to run pick and roll with Arthur. Make defenses collapse the paint and let Selby drain open 3s like he did during the summer league. The league is no longer run by one man army teams. If Memphis is going to win a championship, Z-bo is not going to do it alone and neither is Rudy Gay.

[jman3134]

Are you going to pretend that OJ Mayo did not make timely plays that year? Or that Arthur wasn't playing? Or that Gasol took a postseason vacation?

A lot of people stepped up that year, not just Z-bo. And I guarantee you that this team would not have made as far as they did without their contributions.

Yes, but the main reason why we were there was because Z-bo was playing at another level. He was virtually impossible to stop and they put virtually everyone on the guy. It was a spectacular performance on his part- there's no reason to undermine that.

I don't think anyone would consider OJ Mayo to be a lockdown specialist guarding who knows. Besides even if he was, it isn't his job. That is Allen's assignment. OJ's job was to create instant offense and he failed miserably.

We went though terrible droughts because once again our bench could not match theirs. Our only decent bench player, OJ Mayo was a brick/turnover waiting to happen. Arthur was not there. Selby wasn't ready. Pargo sucks. Q pon was invisible.

I'm not making excuses for Gay. I do believe he needs to take smarter shots. He needs to slash to the bucket more often. However, I won't fault him for not being a spot up shooter. What else are you supposed to do when Conley spends 20 seconds trying to force feed Z-bo, only to give the ball to Gay at the top of the key and make him chuck up contested jumpers.

You can't be a spot up shooter when your front court isn't playing well enough to draw double teams.


What I'm saying here is that Gay (as well as other players) can be better utilized in the offense. If our success continues to hinge solely on Z-bo's erratic jumper then this team is in serious trouble.


Let's stop treating Z-bo like a superstar and remember that there are other players on the team who are capable of doing more. Design set plays for Rudy instead of iso nonsense. More Rudy-Gasol give and go. Allow Bayless to run pick and roll with Arthur. Make defenses collapse the paint and let Selby drain open 3s like he did during the summer league. The league is no longer run by one man army teams. If Memphis is going to win a championship, Z-bo is not going to do it alone and neither is Rudy Gay.

No one considered him a specialist, but he provided some valuable defense when Tony Allen was not in the game. He guarded Chris Paul for spurts and this was certainly valuable even if it is not his "job" in your opinion. Actually, it is everyone on the Grizzlies' job to play defense. Some exceled in this area more than others. Rudy Gay was not one of those people who exceled. Neither was Zach Randolph for that matter.

With regard to the bench, our backup point guard slot was a serious area of weakness and Eric Bledsoe played extremely well all series. This forced Conley to log huge minutes unnecessarily. And, coach Hollins ended up playing OJ out of position at the 1. Everyone who has watched the Grizzlies in summer league knows that OJ was a turnover machine at that spot. So, it was not surprising to me that the Grizzlies flopped when they had OJ out of position filling a completely different role than he should have been in. With that said, his assist to turnover ratio was actually a lot better than Rudy Gay's. Further, Mayo was subbed out at random intervals, which prevented him from obtaining any kind of a rhythm- not to once again mention the fact that he was playing multiple positions in the series due to personnel holes.

Quincy Pondexter was actually a really bright spot in the series. He was very versatile on defense and exceptionally efficient offensively. I think his play should have actually earned him more minutes. The problem is there was a logjam at the wing and no one to play point guard.

I have always felt that Rudy needed to take smarter shots. But, it is beyond that at this point. He cannot create for anyone on the floor. When he decides to attack the basket, he is solely looking for his own shot. His basketball IQ isn't there, and it hasn't really gotten much better in the years he has played in the NBA. He continues to have a world of talent, but if the mental part of his game doesn't come around, that wealth of talent is ultimately rendered useless.

Again, Z-bo was not at full strength and probably shouldn't have even played at all last season considering his injuries. He toughed out what should have been a rest period. That is more of a testament to the heart of Z-bo than anything imo. When Z-bo was actually drawing double coverage a season ago, I made the argument that Gay or someone on the perimeter would be left with wide open shots. It is his job to hit those shots. And, Gay attempted many open perimeter jumpers, or pullups moving towards the basket. He was unable to connect on many of them. And he did score many of his points when the game was either out of reach or when his points were not absolutely necessary to secure the victory. (still, you could argue they might have been given our 4th quarter collapses)

This team's play hinges on Randolph's ability to score high percentage shots. That is a better option than his or Rudy Gay's jump shooting. When Z-bo is healthy, this will become more evident.

[Jodi]

Pistons fan here, what do guys think of this trade?

Pistons get: Rudy Gay
Grizzlies get: 2015 1st rounder(unprotected), 2013 2nd rounder, Austin Daye, Maggette, Kris Middleton

[jefe]

Pistons fan here, what do guys think of this trade?

Pistons get: Rudy Gay
Grizzlies get: 2015 1st rounder(unprotected), 2013 2nd rounder, Austin Daye, Maggette, Kris Middleton

The idea of trading Rudy for Maggette (even if he's an expiring) makes me want to vomit more than I though it would.

That is all.

[bballgm]

The Magic also had no plans to trade Dwight. Who knows what really is going on behind the scenes?

[Jodi]

The idea of trading Rudy for Maggette (even if he's an expiring) makes me want to vomit more than I though it would.

That is all.

What do you think about this 3-team trade?
Houston gets: Maggette, Pistons 2014 2nd rounder
Memphis gets: Kevin Martin, Austin Daye
Detroit gets: Rudy Gay

[vanjulio]

Maggette is on the Pistons?

[jumivi]

yep, ben gordon trade

[vanjulio]

guess they finally gave up on Austin Daye. Or Maggette is just an expiry