The Memphis Grizzlies stunned the basketball world by shipping Rudy Gay north of the border. Sure, the Grizzlies couldn’t afford to keep him under contract after this season, but they threw away their season in one move by trading him. Rather than making a trade to get younger or even stay at the same level, the Grizzlies simply got nothing in return for a perennial star in the league. Toronto however came away with an unreal deal and they’re much improved from the trade. By getting rid of Jose Calderon the Raptors have made it clear that Kyle Lowry is their point guard for the future and they’ve surrounded him with some great talent that should be able to gel well. Lowry, Gay, Derozan, Bargnani, and a healthy Jonas Valancuinias is a pretty good starting 5 and should be able to hold up against many of the Eastern Conferences great teams.
By no means is Toronto an upper echelon team now but they are finally getting back to relevance after being in the doldrums for a few years. Memphis made a trade a few weeks ago in an effort to get under the luxury tax and they succeeded so by no means did they need to trade Gay, so it definitely came as a shock when the trade was announced. Conley, Randolph, Gasol, Gay, and Tony Allen was a formidable starting 5 and the Grizz were on their way to another playoff berth, this time as a top 5 seed in the West. Why make such an obviously bad trade?
Three years ago when the Three Musketeers got together in South Beach they catalyzed a new super team philosophy in the NBA. Just three years removed from the Decision and all the Heat hoopla, this ideology is fading into the background quickly. A team cannot have just 3 players; rather they must have 10 men all with a role on the team. Maybe Memphis’ move is indicative of how GM’s are now going to behave with regards to heavy contract loaded teams, or maybe this was just a power move for a new GM and president of basketball operations…
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