Gay Rumblings

[Sofia]

I broke down the Rudy Gay situation on Wednesday, but there's another potential team to add to the mix: the aforementioned Clippers.
While it remains unclear how determined the Memphis Grizzlies and their new management group are to move their star small forward before the Feb. 21 deadline, a package involving Clippers backup point guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran small forward Caron Butler, picks and other players to make the money work could be just what the Grizzlies are looking for. It's clear they are on the lookout for an upgrade over reserve point guard Jerryd Bayless, and Butler would fill Gay's small forward spot – albeit not nearly as well. The Clippers, I'm told, would consider Gay but are also justifiably wary of doing anything to affect the chemistry that has played such a big part in their season.

As for teams that don't currently appear to have any interest in Gay: Denver, Sacramento and Houston. Golden State's interest in Gay that is explained inthe piece remains, but the initial talks didn't get far because the Grizzlies asked for too many of the Warriors' young pieces and the Warriors were looking to shed too much salary of their own. Phoenix and Toronto, as mentioned in the piece, is a realistic possibility as well.

http://bit.ly/VYrMZg?cc=54218a54cd2650d ... bf10aa717f

Wow. Surely not. I can't see how we get this done financially.

[mkwest]

Ignoring salaries, I would love to have Gay as our starting SF despite any criticisms I may have of him and his game.

However, I can't ignore the salaries or what he offers on the court at the salaries that he receives. Over the final 3 seasons of Gay's Deal (this season included), he'll be paid $53,666,794. Over the same 3 seasons, Kevin Durant will be paid $53,497,880. Gay will be paid $168,914 more than Durant through 2014-15 season.

Adding that amount of salary on top of paying max contracts to BG, CP3 and ~$11M/yr for DJ will hamstring us financially. We'll be even further past the tax threshold and won't have the same quality of depth due to $17M being wrapped up into 1 player as opposed to 3 or 4.

If we were getting Durant (or a Durant-caliber player) for that amount, then you do it and don't worry about the financial complications. Gay is surely no Durant. Gay is not even an All-Star/All-NBA'er.

[Neddy]

absolutely no way. gay is an above average player who is getting paid the max deal, this year slightly less than 17 mil and increasing each year remaining. to make this trade work, we would have to give up Caron+Bledsoe+fillers and those fillers are either option A) matt barnes+turiaf+hollins+green or option B) jamal.

that is just not worth it to dump, and break up our chemistry and the bench.

after this year, if we do make this trade, we would have 3 max players and no room to add to our bench, and have to dump most of our existing bench. we can only fill the minimum contracts and Gay is not anywhere near being worth that, a volume shooter with horrible efficiency who's PER is at 15. matt barnes is 4 points higher in PER.

if Gay wasn't a poison pill, would memphis be looking to trade him in the middle of their rise?

[Quake Griffin]

Id only bring him on if he's willing to restructure his deal.

his money is too much on the books not only for CP3....but the number we'll need to bring Lamar and Matt Barnes back....potentially the number we'll need to bring Chauncey back.

he is a long term solution at SF though...and I'd love him at like a Rondo number...5/55...maybe 5/60
def one of the guys that you'd love in that 2nd tier group of SFs that isn't Melo, Bron or KD.
and he could buy us time in finding a young and suitable 2.

maybe this is a deal we can get done better in the offseason once cp3 is signed and here for good?
caron's contract steps into the realm of expiring...eric is valuable.

dunno....just my random unorganized thoughts on him.
i want him here...just not at his...5/82 clip.

cp3/ dunno
chauncey/ crawf
gay/ barnes
griff/ lamar
dre/ turiaf

wow that's an expensive team.

[Neddy]

i don't think NBA players union would allow Gay to restructure his contract even if he wanted to. this isn't NFL. essentially, Gay and his agent won't restructure his contract, even if the rules allowed him to.

Gay is gonna stay a Grizz or he will be amnistied. no way he is traded.

[Sofia]

^Deal restructures aren't allowed in the new CBA.


Because of our financial situation, there are only 3 ways this trade can be made(picks can be used to tweak values):

A) Chuck a heap of players for Gay:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=cm64t82

Butler / Hill / Bledsoe / Thompkins / Green ($13.9m) for Gay ($16.5m)

Leaves us with:
Paul / Billups
Crawford /
Gay / Barnes
Blake / Odom
DJ / Turiaf / Hollins

Memphis would have to cut Thompkins and Selby to get to the 15 players max. They also get a heap of complimentary pieces, the sum of which is... junk. They won't touch it.

B)Griz address their 3 ball issues
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bpes48p

Butler / Crawford / Bledsoe for Gay

Leaves us with:
CP / Billups
Green / Hill
Gay / Barnes
Blake / Odom / Thompkins
DJ / Hollins /Turiaf

Memphis fix their 3 balls issues and Crawford plugs the scoring off the bench hole that was left when they let OJ Mayo go. We could probably take Josh Selby back from them to give us a little extra guard depth, in case Billups fails to return to full strength, but that back court looks pretty paper thin suddenly.

C) Odom is an expiring
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=abnwhac

Odom / Butler / Bledsoe for Gay

Leaves us with:
CP / Billups
Green / Crawford / Hill
Gay / Barnes
Blake / Turiaf / Thompkins
DJ / Hollins

Memphis wouldn't play Odom as they already have Randolph and Speights/Arthur only just signed multi year deals this past off season. Similar to trade B, we get pretty thin on the inside by doing this, we have to try and pry one of their bigs like Haddadi (Sorry Ralph and Mike)

[Sofia]

^Or TL;DR It's pretty damn unlikely that we can pull this of without other teams in some sort of frankentrade.

[Angel strike1]

would love to get him but he is overpayed.

he is one of the legit wing players with deng.


i dont really counter melo/lbj as sfs.
lol

[azncorruptedo17]

#nothanks #overpaid.

[mttwlsn16]

Gay rumors sound gay. Ahhhhh

[Quake Griffin]

so a player can't rework his deal even if he wants to?

even like duncan so that the team can bring on other players?
yikes.
free country of peace.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

Gay is a talented player but I don't want to do anything that would effect our team chemistry. We've had a lot of success so far, there is no need to change the roster. Plus we are getting Billups and Hill back. Besides Griffin and Paul I'm fine with the other positions contribution be by committee.

[Quake Griffin]

Gay is a talented player but I don't want to do anything that would effect our team chemistry. We've had a lot of success so far, there is no need to change the roster. Plus we are getting Billups and Hill back. Besides Griffin and Paul I'm fine with the other positions contribution be by committee.

Caron has one more year on his deal - his age 34 year.
if I'm peeping this right....Griffin and Paul's 5 year deals are going to run at the same time....a deal for him would be a pre-emptive way of avoiding the SF issue when it comes up....so we're not kicking the can down the road.

at the very least id address it this offseason....i would be scared of changing THIS team right now....but caron on an expiring deal?
psh...gone in July if i have something to say about it.

[roc]

Maybe something like this could work... MEM-LAC-DET

LAC gets Gay and adds a cheaper PF to replace Odom and a young PG for depth.

MEM gets a lot of expiring to help their salary issues and a young cheap SF that could fit with what they have going in Singler.

DET takes on some extra money for a couple seasons to get Bledsoe


Memphis probably would want a pick added but DET does not have one they can trade thanks to the CHA deal. No idea of LAC pick situation.

[Neddy]

there maybe a few posters around here who are Gay fan, but i am not. he is a ball dominant SF who is an inefficient volume scorer who gets his mostly from Iso. we already have ball dominant PG and PF, and a ball dominant 6th man off the bench, we don't want to be like the flakers and keep signing max players who needs the ball in their hands to be successful.... then crap out.

HELL NO to gay trade whatsoever. i prefer our depth and versatility.

[mj_shoefanatic]

I don't want Gay on this team.

[og15]

Just no. If the Clippers want an expensive SF, Luol Deng and Injured Danny Granger, are better options and make about $3M less each. This doesn't mean either of those are realistic.

[azncorruptedo17]

Maybe something like this could work... MEM-LAC-DET

LAC gets Gay and adds a cheaper PF to replace Odom and a young PG for depth.

MEM gets a lot of expiring to help their salary issues and a young cheap SF that could fit with what they have going in Singler.

DET takes on some extra money for a couple seasons to get Bledsoe


Memphis probably would want a pick added but DET does not have one they can trade thanks to the CHA deal. No idea of LAC pick situation.

#nothanks. eb isn't going anywhere until after we see cp3 ink that contract. EB can def start for more than half the teams in the nba, but hopefully they figure out a way for him to sign a smaller contract that we can match =P

[scoobs07]

No way the Clippers do this. Bled is averaging 17ppg, 5.2rpg, 5.2apg, 3.0spg and a astonishing (for his size) 1.4bpg per 36minutes. He is just having too big of a impact. I wouldn't be suprised if the Clippers just hang on to him till his contract expires, unless some team just gives them a offer they can't refuse. Gay doesn't even really fir any way, if the Clippers do anything like that, I think it would be for a dead eye three point shooter. But, remember, Butler is shooting 40% from three himself, so I don't really see the need for that either.

[Cracka2Hi]

I do think he would be a good fit, but the price is too high. He makes too much money. Granger may make sense once he comes back. We could use an upgrade at SF but I'd hate to see it come at the cost of Bledsoe.