Rudy Gay tra hnts Grizzli - ESPN

Contents:

• NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS
• RUDY GAY AND MIKE CONLEY, AFTER FIRST PLAYG TOGETHER 14 YEARS AGO, CHOOSE TO RNE UTAH
• RUDYGAY
• RUDY GAY THRIVG GRIZZLI' LEAD ROLE
• RUDY GAY HNTS GRIZZLI
• GRIZZLI TRA RUDY GAY TO RAPTORS THREE-TEAM AL WH PISTONS
• RUDY GAY TRA ANALYSIS: WHY MEMPHIS MA OUT LIKE BANDS
• RUDY GAY
• RUDY GAY TRAD TO RAPTORS
• GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI
• GAY MOSW · CY GUI
• NOT THE ONN: MOSW BANS GAY PRI FOR NEXT 100 YEARS
• THUNR WAIV RUDY GAY, PER REPORT, CLEARG WAY FOR JACK WHE
• RUDY GAY EXPECTED TO DRAW TERT OM WARRRS, LAKERS, MAVERICKS, BULLS, PELINS

NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS

As did last year, the Nashville Grizzli gay and clive gby team jt released s 2016 fundraisg lendar and the gby beef is on display aga to raise money for the team and their hostg of next year's Bgham Cup! “We were found 2006 and are the only gay and clive gby team Nashville. RELATED: USA Rugby and Int'l Gay Rugby Sign Agreement to Rid the Sport of Homophobia.

“We will host the Bgham Cup, world champnship of gay gby, here Nashville May 2016. Named after Mark Bgham, who died the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Bgham Cup is the biggt tournament the world for gay and clive teams and this will be the first year has been hosted the South. RELATED: Keegan Hirst Be First Brish Pro Rugby League Player to Come Out as Gay: ‘Now I Feel Free'.

And Don't Miss Last Year's Hotns: Nashville's Gay Rugby Team Gets Wet, Muddy, and Shirtls for New Calendar: PHOTOS. As Towleroad reported earlier this year, USA Rugby, the natnal erng body for the sport of gby unn the Uned Stat, has signed “a memorandum of unrstandg” wh Internatnal Gay Rugby ahead of next year's Bgham Cup Nashville.

RUDY GAY AND MIKE CONLEY, AFTER FIRST PLAYG TOGETHER 14 YEARS AGO, CHOOSE TO RNE UTAH

The two Utah Jazz veterans want a champnship endg to their Gr and Grd begngs(Mark Humphrey | AP) Pot guard Mike Conley, left, and forward Rudy Gay, right, vie for the ball durg NBA basketball trag mp on Tuday, Oct. 2, 2012, Memphis, Gay and Mike Conley first played together 14 years ago, both as young piec of an upstart Memphis Grizzli team. In November of 2007, when they first played an NBA game agast the Seattle SuperSonics, Instagram had yet to be found, no one had yet thought to tweet about Rudy Gay, and the Grizzli were g off of a season — Gay’s rookie year — which they owned the NBA’s worst the pair worked together, they grew up together, they improved together.

Now, Conley and Gay, both their mid-30s, jt flew to Las Vegas together to falize their new ntracts wh the Utah Jazz, watch some summer league basketball, and get to know their new teammat. “Havg another guy that went through the same thg I did at the same time — the whole ‘Gr and Grd, ’ the way we had to kd of fight and claw for everythg to even get noticed as a team and a cy — that mentaly kd of liv wh you and sticks wh you, ” Conley told the pair have stayed nstant munitn, even after Gay’s tra to the Toronto Raptors 2013. We’ve been talkg ever sce I left the Grizzli, ” Gay said durg a news nference Monday.

RUDYGAY

” Now, Gay said that Conley has been his “tour gui, ” showg him the bt optns for where to live Salt Lake urse, for the rnifitn to happen, both unrtricted ee agents had to turn down other offers to choose the Jazz.

”Gay, though, was wafflg for longer, wh siarly petive offers om other ntendg teams — such as both teams om Los Angel. Conley said he spent “a few hours” on the phone wh Gay recg his servic.

RUDY GAY THRIVG GRIZZLI' LEAD ROLE

(Eric Gay | AP) Former Memphis Grizzli head ach Lnel Holls, left, talks wh Mike Conley (11) and Rudy Gay, right, durg a timeout a game on Jan. ”Gay said, particular, that he uld help the Jazz wh his posnal versatily.

RUDY GAY HNTS GRIZZLI

After startg his reer as a wg — sometim even playg at shootg guard, Gay has moved down the posnal spectm to play at the four and five rol as he slows down and the game chang around him.

But even more than that is — a lot of really, really good teams were g after me and wanted me to be there — but I thk this team was the team that had the most need for what I n do, ” Gay said. The Jazz will have to ci whether to keep Conley for that third season, or cut him for that $10 ln savgs, before 48 hours after the 2023 NBA ’s al, meanwhile, is actually a three-year al, wh the third beg a player optn for Gay. Gay’s ntract will make him $5.

GRIZZLI TRA RUDY GAY TO RAPTORS THREE-TEAM AL WH PISTONS

Rudy Gay watched last season as the Memphis Grizzli phed to the Wtern Conference playoffs and a stunng first-round upset of the top-seed San Anton Spurs.

RUDY GAY TRA ANALYSIS: WHY MEMPHIS MA OUT LIKE BANDS

It was the anchise's greatt moment, and yet Gay – one of their greatt players – uld only watch his teammat om the sile after a shoulr jury cut short his Grizzli' ensug succs ma a lot of people wonr: Was the team better off whout Gay? Was the five-year, $84 ln ntract the Grizzli given Gay a waste of money?

A year later, Gay is aga healthy and has rumed his leadg role wh the team. “People were sayg they did whout me, " Gay said. ”Gay veloped to an imprsive srer durg his first four seasons wh Memphis, but that wasn’t enough to get the anchise to the playoffs.

15, 2010 and eventually had season-endg by Zach Randolph, the Grizzli played well whout Gay, makg the playoffs for the first time sce 2006. [ Also: Why the Hors might want to see Eric Gordon leave]“I nsired tryg to e back and not have the surgery, ” Gay said. Their succs had people qutng Gay's value to the anchise.

RUDY GAY

“I heard all of , ” Gay said. ' ”Holls had thought Gay sometim foced too much on his srg and need to sta his level of play every night, rather than elevatg for only the ele opponents.

RUDY GAY TRAD TO RAPTORS

But he didn't agree the Grizzli were better whout Gay – pecially bee they didn't have anyone to unter Thunr All-Star Kev Durant.

”Gay was fully revered om surgery by the time the lockout end, but said he “felt like a rookie” tryg to f early this season after averagg 13.

1, Gay regaed his lead role. “When Zach went out, [Gay] knew he had to be the lear and make the guys better, ” Holls Grizzli have stayed the playoff hunt whout Gay, wng seven straight gam at one stretch this month. ”Gay’s goal is obv: Play the playoffs for the first time and hope the Grizzli n build off what they did whout him last season.

GAY MOSW MOSW CY GUI

“The sky is the lim for , ” Gay said.

Memphis got rid of Rudy Gay!?! "This is the missg of Rudy Gay. Not sayg that the Rudy Gay tra January was all about money (apparently there were problems of urt spacg and nng plays for both Gay and Zach Randolph that had bee an issue), but savg sh was at the very center of why Memphis cid to part ways wh the one player who proved srg 20 pots per game (18 ppg reer average) and takg big shots me as natural to him as nial to Amanda now they are out.

GAY MOSW · CY GUI

Especially when the teams they have to go through to get to the promised land all have one or two of those typ of players on their the Grizzli trad Gay, the Lakers still had a healthy Kobe Bryant, the Rockets had Jam Harn, the Clippers had CP3 and Jamal Crawford, Denver had Andre Iguodala and Danilo Gallari was healthy, Goln State had Steph Curry and San Anton had s big three -- Tim Dunn, Tony Parker and Manu Gobili, who are all pable of wng gam sgle-handly -- pl prev champnship rgs to back that was jt the East and if a team is ser tryg to w a rg, at some pot has to image and strategize for nng to LeBron Jam.

If that team is ser about attemptg to w a srg droughts Game 2, pecially relyg on Jerryd Bayls (who took four of the team's fal six shots OT) off the bench as the go-to guy, the void the Grizzli' offense left by Gay was more evint than ever.

Wh Randolph fallg to one of the worst shootg slumps of his reer, beg rced to a "shell of himself" player and not beg able to make hardly any baskets (Randolph sred a total of 44 pots and shot 30 percent for the seri), the Grizzli need a player like Gay to take the prsure off of Randolph and Mike Conley Jr., someone to rry the srg load.

NOT THE ONN: MOSW BANS GAY PRI FOR NEXT 100 YEARS

)Gay played diplomatic on "First Take, " appearg as a gut Wednday morng and rpondg to Stephen A.

THUNR WAIV RUDY GAY, PER REPORT, CLEARG WAY FOR JACK WHE

All Gay uld say about watchg his former team get oted was, "I felt this year was our year...

RUDY GAY EXPECTED TO DRAW TERT OM WARRRS, LAKERS, MAVERICKS, BULLS, PELINS

The Griz need Rudy Gay more than OKC need Harn once Rsell Wtbrook went down; they need Gay as much as Chigo need Derrick Rose once the whole Bulls roster went down. )Dealg Jose Calron's expirg ntract for Gay om Toronto's standpot was a petent and savvy bs and basketball move.

But the Raptors are not tryg to w a champnship anytime the immediate future and what they need/need om Gay is totally different than what the Grizzli need/ what if his shootg percentage wasn't the greatt, so what if he uld at tim be a liabily on fense, so what if would have been a stggle for Lnel Holls to have him -exist on the blocks wh Randolph and Marc Gasol offensively. Gay was the one player who had the abily to get the Grizzli out of srg slumps that seem to happen to every team, every season the playoffs when facg great fensive teams be Chris Wallace (GM) didn't thk about that, I don't know. I'm not sayg that Gay is worth the almost $18 ln he was due next season or the more than $19 ln he was on the books for 2014-15, nor am I sayg that the Grizzli would have beaten the Spurs wh him, but I am sayg the anizatn owed to the basketball-si of their bs algs to at least for this season fish out "as is" and see what their team would have done wh the origal parts they'd put together to make a potential June n.

The Memphis Grizzli have trad forward Rudy Gay to the Toronto Grizzli receive pot guard Jose Calron as part of the al, and routed Calron's $10.