Gra the Tra: Raptors land their anchise rnerstone Rudy Gay

Contents:

• GRA THE TRA: RAPTORS LAND THEIR ANCHISE RNERSTONE RUDY GAY
• RUDY GAY TRA ANALYSIS: WHY MEMPHIS MA OUT LIKE BANDS
• GRIZZLI TRA RUDY GAY TO RAPTORS THREE-TEAM AL WH PISTONS
• THE INBOUNDS: REPORTS SAY MEMPHIS ULD TRA RUDY GAY; SHOULD ?
• TAKE A LOOK SI THE MEMPHIS HOME RUDY GAY IS SELLG
• SOURC: RAPTORS VET RUDY GAY
• RUDY GAY TRAD TO TORONTO RAPTORS AS MEMPHIS GRIZZLI NTUE MAKEOVER
• RUDY GAY HNTS GRIZZLI
• NBA RUMORS: JAM HARN TRA TALKS, JOEL EMBIID, PJ TUCKER, RUDY GAY, LAKERS, WARRRS, BUCKS, MORE
• RUDY GAY TO KGS 7-PLAYER AL

GRA THE TRA: RAPTORS LAND THEIR ANCHISE RNERSTONE RUDY GAY

Gradg the rults of the tra of Rudy Gay to Toronto, Ed Davis, Tayshn Prce, and At Daye to Memphis, and Jose Calron to Detro. Rudy Gay uld never rry the expectatns for him on his shoulrs.

Wh the Memphis Grizzli tradg Rudy Gay to Toronto, which sends Jose Calron to Detro and Ed Davis to Memphis as the Pistons send Tayshn Prce and At Daye to Memphis, we exame the rults for all three teams and gra out. Santa Cls is not real, and Rudy Gay mak a md-blowg amount of money.

RUDY GAY TRA ANALYSIS: WHY MEMPHIS MA OUT LIKE BANDS

Gay is arguably now the bt fenr on the Raptors, but given they're the 25th-ranked team fensive efficiency, we're not sayg much. Rudy Gay pl Landry Fields pl Las Kleiza pl Terrence Ross equals $96. It's mostly that the Raptors spent their bt tra chip to get Rudy Gay, which is kd of like breakg open your piggy bank you've been savg for three years to buy the mid-size luxury r.

But you jt n't look at this move as anythg but siways, unls Gay is able to blow up and live up to his ntract. Gay was not what was standg Memphis' way of a champnship.

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

Year after year, Memphis would hope that this would be the year that Gay would explo, put all together, ph his game further.

The 2011 playoff n was the bt thg that has ever happened to the anchise, and is also the worst thg that uld have happened to Gay wh the fans. All they remember is that the fartht a Memphis team has ever gone was wh Rudy Gay on the shelf. That's not fair to Gay as a player, a teammate, but 's how the perceptn veloped.

There will be sad fans Memphis wh Gay gone, but there will also be a rolute belief the team is better, jt whout Gay. We'll have to see how the new piec work, and 's very much no flt of Gay's.

THE INBOUNDS: REPORTS SAY MEMPHIS ULD TRA RUDY GAY; SHOULD ?

Losg Gay's ntract isn't really helpful for Memphis a meangful way.

But the Grizzli stead get a veteran who fs very much to what they do, n produce on the perimeter off the dribble (a key piece they need to get return for Gay; the ia that they uld jt get back shooters and bigs put their system limbo), and is an excellent fenr.

As wh any al the new fislly-nsc NBA, the Rudy Gay tra volvg the Grizzli, Raptors and Pistons n be analyzed om many different angl. Some might lament the three-team al that sent Gay to the Raptors, Tayshn Prce and Ed Davis to the Grizzli and Jose Calron to the Pistons bee the bt team volved trad s leadg srer for fancial reasons. MORE: Straight Outta Vanuver | Detro Bad Boys | Raptors HQComplete Rudy Gay tra verage.

TAKE A LOOK SI THE MEMPHIS HOME RUDY GAY IS SELLG

As has been mentned before this space, was always a matter of when, not if, the Grizzli would tra Gay, even after a recent tra of Marree Speights and Wayne Ellgton got Memphis unr the luxury-tax thrhold for this year.

SOURC: RAPTORS VET RUDY GAY

The Grizzli therefore had only one choice to make: tra Gay now, or tra Gay the offseason. Spacg has been a major issue, thanks large part to Gay's awkward f wh Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

This is the perd of the game where you'd thk Gay's shot-creatn skills would be most valuable.

RUDY GAY TRAD TO TORONTO RAPTORS AS MEMPHIS GRIZZLI NTUE MAKEOVER

Holls was very close wh Gay, so gettg back a name like Prce will at least appease him.

That's good for Memphis, bee the last thg they need is a worse versn of Gay.

Gay shot only 31 percent on three-poters this year, and that shortg allowed his fenr to cheat off him to help on Randolph and Gasol the post. Throw Prce's obv fensive strengths -- he's regrsed sce his glory days of 2004, but he's still at least as good as Gay -- and the Grizzli have clarified their offensive peckg orr while matag or even enhancg their stiflg fense.

RUDY GAY HNTS GRIZZLI

Holls was vol his support for Gay, and the players all liked him too.

NBA RUMORS: JAM HARN TRA TALKS, JOEL EMBIID, PJ TUCKER, RUDY GAY, LAKERS, WARRRS, BUCKS, MORE

They got a battle-tted, role-playg small forward that n approximate a lot of Gay's skills and f wh the team's post players. Gay has cled this year -- his srg is down and his PER is jt 14. A change of scenery should bump Gay's numbers back up to where they ed to be.

The Raptors will pay a bed $50 ln next season to Gay, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Landry Fields next year. RAPTORS HQ: Not jt about talentMORE: One Raptors' fan Rudy Gay nightmare. The biggt issue: 's gog to be awfully difficult to divi wg touch between Gay and DeRozan.

RUDY GAY TO KGS 7-PLAYER AL

Gay has sred on jt 32 percent of his spot-up opportuni and is htg jt 27 percent of his thre the spots.

The one thg that uld salvage all of this: movg Gay to power forward.

I know 's pretty drastic, but Gay has thrived at the posn ternatnal play and is certaly jt as big as many stretch 4s. Better yet, movg Gay to power forward would ee up mut for Ross, who has e on recently. A lp of Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Gay and a healthy Valanciunas would be very difficult to fend.