Grizzlies say goodbye to leading scorer Rudy Gay in salary dump that gives Memphis fans reason to question new ownership’s commitment to winning.
Toronto's newly-acquired forward Rudy Gay (c.) poses with Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo (r.) and coach Dwane Casey.
The trading of Rudy Gay off a team that was regarded as a legitimate championship contender was nothing less than a classic salary dump, with Toronto more than willing to take on the almost $45 million in Gay’s remaining salary that Pera did not want to pay.
When the Grizzlies basketball people started telling everyone that the deal was done because of future luxury-tax implications, that’s when Memphis fans got their dose of reality: They’re living in one of the NBA’s small markets, and the guy in charge, no matter what he said back in November, is starting to act like a typical small-market owner.
So much for Pera’s quest for a title, because as coach Lionel Hollins pointed out, “When you have champagne taste, you can’t be on a beer budget.’’
But that’s what is happening now with the latest collective bargaining agreement that is scaring owners via the new punitive luxury-tax levels. The Grizzlies have gone from having championship aspirations to patting themselves on their backs for cutting more than $40 million in salaries over the next three seasons. Before they made the Gay trade in which they got back Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and Ed Davis, they made another deal with only the bottom line in mind. They sent Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby, along with a future No. 1 pick, to Cleveland for Jon Leuer and a $7.5 million trade exception. The sole purpose of the deal was to shave $6 million off their payroll in order to get under the luxury-tax threshold for this season.
