Trading Rudy Gay to the Raptors will Make him an All-Star

Newly acquired small forward for the Toronto Raptors Rudy Gay is ready to make a statement in the Air Canada arena. Gay has always been an intriguing young player that possesses a lot of offensive ability. Gay has been through so much in his seven year career that he could write a book on it. When he was drafted in 2006 as the 8^th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies many knew that he would be the piece to the puzzle that will help rebuild this organization.

Coming out of the University of Connecticut he was used to winning and coming down to Memphis things seem to shift. It didn’t go as planned to be a respectable team in his early years. Success doesn’t come overnight but this team didn’t look that they could be strong and take the next step in the Western Conference. Being drafted as high as he was there were many pressures to come and Gay for the most part took it with stride.

Being only 26 years old and suffering numerous injuries that have kept him on the sidelines for many games with the Grizzlies, many thought that he just couldn’t stay healthy. However, when Gay was on the basketball court you'd never second guess his ability at all.

Gay is the type of player that you have to double team because he’s very explosive when he wants to be. His career scoring numbers are better than average for his position. He averages 18 ppg for his career. But for a player that was re-signed in 2010 for 5 years/$82 million deal, it should be higher.

The Memphis Grizzlies made a big mistake to give Gay a max contract when he only showed them that he wasn’t worth the asking price. Some games he looked like he can turn into an all-star and some he would look like an average forward in the NBA. I would have loved to see Gay stay with the young Grizzlies and make a strong playoff push with Zach Randolph and Gasol but many players don’t last forever on a team.

Rudy Gay contract and just decent numbers this year made the Grizzlies make the move to trade him off to Canada. This trade will not only bring Gay’s game to another level but it will guide the Raptors into a team that opponents aren’t going to want to face.

This is a young and energetic team that just needed a player like Gay to get them over the hump and the struggles that they face. I really like the move for both teams and for Gay.  In the end, the Raptors helped Gay and not the other way around. Putting him in the Eastern Conference and on a team where expectations aren’t high, he will score about 23 ppg. How do you feel about the move?