Jan30

Grizzlies trade Rudy Gay to the Raptors in 3 team trade

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For weeks it’s been rumored that the Grizzlies were seeking to move Rudy Gay by the trade deadline. The issue was finding a third team to complete the deal.

Today, they found that team in the Detroit Pistons and they finally agreed in principle to trade Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors.

The deal that is sending Gay to the Raptors will also send Jose Calderon to the Pistons; Austin Daye and Tayshaun Prince will be joining the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies will also receive Ed Davis and a second round pick from the Raptors.

The trade ends up working out well for all the teams involved. Of the three teams in this trade, the Grizzlies are the only one who are a playoff team.

While Gay, who is averaging 17.2 points and 5.9 rebounds, was the leading scorer for the Grizzlies they felt they could still thrive without him and most importantly they wanted to move his contract which had him earning $17.8 million this year and $19.3 million in 2014.

The Grizzlies have plenty of other pieces, but this move has significant backfire potential. As for the other teams involved, they are in a rebuilding phase.

For Memphis, they are attempting to be one of the best teams after trading away their top scorer.

It’ll be tall task, but with Prince likely to give them solid time off the bench they should find themselves near the top of the West come playoff time.

For the Toronto Raptors, they finally have a good scorer who they can build their team around.

Rudy Gay is taking his talents to Toronto

With Kyle Lowry playing well, the Raptors opted to trade away Calderon to plan for the future, because they are last in the Atlantic at this point in the season and needed to make a move.

Gay gives the Raptors a solid wing player to go along with Lowry and DeMar Derozan, who they signed earlier this year to a 4 year, $40 million deal.

The Detroit Pistons have been one of the league’s worst teams so far this season and trading away Daye and Prince is another step in the rebuilding process with this young team.

Brandon Knight has played well for the Pistons thus far in his young career, but adding Calderon will bolster their lineup, especially if he chooses to re-sign after this year when his contract is up.

Since John Hollinger joined the Grizzlies as Vice President of Operations they have tried to move Rudy Gay.

Gay has finally found a landing-place in Toronto.