In a story which cannot come to fruition until teams are officially allowed to put their signature on a new contract July 8th, sources at ESPN are reporting that Memphis’ 5 year-$82 million max tendered offer to 4 year player Rudy Gay has been accepted. The deal will assure that one of the game’s brightest and rising young stars remains with the Grizzlies as the face of the franchise through the ’15-’16 season.
Within the report it reveals that it took little more than 12 hours for both player and team to agree on a new contract that will pay Gay more than $13 million next season with annual raises of more than 10% per year after that. The move to resign Gay is a bit of a surprise since it was widely speculated that the team’s best all-around player would all but assuredly sign elsewhere after he rebuked the team’s 5 year – $50 million deal offered last Summer. Gay has subsequently cancelled scheduled meetings with other potential suitors Minnesota, LA Clippers, and NJ Nets.
Last season, which was his 4th professional season out of the University of Connecticut, Gay averaged 19.6 ppg, 5.9 rebounds, and a career high 1.5 steals as the starter at the small forward position in Memphis. He was regarded as the #10 best player available on our Top 50 2010 NBA Summer Free Agents List. In his young NBA career, Gay has averaged 19+ ppg and 5.5 rebounds for the past 3 seasons and may be poised to take one more step towards being one of the truly great superstars in the league. Currently only age 23, he also was selected our #7 ranked player on our Ten Best Players Under Age 23 last Summer, making the list among such greats as Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, and Rajon Rondo.
The resigning of Gay gives the Grizzlies a bit of stability moving forward after all of the still unresolved legal troubles that were uncovered recently about star big man, Zach Randolph. Gay, along with another young star in O.J. Mayo are great bookends to build around as the Grizz try to make some noise in the rough and tumble Western Conference-Southwest Division. Unfortunately for them, Memphis is in the same division with annual powerhouses like Dallas and San Antonio, who are annually among the league’s elite level teams. They are moving in the right direction after posting a 40-42 record and flirting with a playoff birth until the last month of the season. Newly selected draft picks, SG Xavier Henry and PG Greivis Vasquez should provide some immediate help in the backcourt.
On the downside, the Grizzlies have invested a ton of money in a player who still isn’t quite there as one of those players who strike fear in opponents like a Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, or Kevin Durant. Will Gay ever get there? He shot a respectable 46% from the field, but is not a lights out 3 point shooter, since he hits on average just under one 3PT FG made per game and is only average with the dribble. He has improved his defense to an acceptable level after nearly being a liability his first 3 seasons and is one of the games better finishers at the rim.
In my opinion, Memphis was wise to lock up Gay, since at worst he gives them 19 points and 5 boards per night while best case, he improves his handles and long range shooting and becomes a 25 ppg scorer and All-Star. What were there options if the didn’t re-sign Gay? Who could they bring back in return? At 5 years and $82 million, they wouldn’t be able to afford other top tier free agents like Joe Johnson, Lebron James, or Dirk Nowitzki. They also couldn’t just let him get away without a viable replacement, since in the Western Conference, just being an average team rarely even gets a sniff at the playoffs. How good can Rudy Gay be? The Grizzlies now have 5 more years to figure that out.
Be sure to check out our constantly updated Top 50 2010 Summer Free Agents List , keeping you up to date on where your top free agents wind up this Summer.
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
