Even at the wing, Gay is not any better than Metta World Peace defensively. However, sending him out of town will leave a big hole in the middle of the defense that Earl Clark simply cannot fill. Even off the bench, the Spanish player is a very good interior defender that can get blocks and rebounds with consistency. On defense, the trading Gasol for Gay is a huge drop-off. Rudy Gay has been mentioned in multiple trade rumors less than a week before the start of the season. NBA: A recap of last nights California games featuring the Lakers, Clippers and. Gasol was not built for the fast-paced offense, but he might now be able to contribute the way he is used to on the offensive side of the floor. NBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat interested in veteran forward Rudy Gay. With the talent that this team has on the floor, this might be the perfect way to score points. In the last two games, Los Angeles has run more of a schoolyard-type offense with Bryant running the offense at point guard, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
They realized that the Mike D'Antoni offense does not work for this team. In addition, the team seems to have made a drastic change that will improve the team without making any trades.Īfter dropping to 17-25 on the season, the Lakers finally had an epiphany. Gay's Player Efficiency Rating of 14.1 would rank ninth on Los Angeles.ĭespite his ability to put up points, there is little chance he improves the Lakers offensively. Even though he is a solid free-throw shooter, he does not get himself to the line often enough. His shooting percentage is a low 40.4 percentage, and that drops to only 30.1 percent from behind the arc. He averages only 17 points per game despite the fact that he takes 16.4 shots per game.
The problem is that the small forward is very inefficient with his scoring. He is a perimeter player who takes a lot of shots in order to score, but they already have one of those in Kobe Bryant. Gay simply does not fit in with the Lakers. Unfortunately, this does not make as much sense as it does on paper. Finally, the Lakers would get a big-time playmaker. Memphis would then get some future payroll flexibility by getting rid of Gay. In this deal, the eighth-place Boston Celtics would trade veteran Paul Pierce for some rebounding help in Pau Gasol. We've heard more than one rival team speculate that a three-way deal where Pierce lands in Memphis, Gasol goes to Boston and Gay joins the Lakers makes "some sense." Sources say that the Celtics and Grizzlies have indeed held some exploratory trade talks since Gay hit the market. He is a perimeter player who takes a lot of shots in order to score, but they already have one of those in Kobe.
One potential option that would do more harm than good is a trade to acquire Rudy Gay.Īccording to ESPN's Marc Stein, this type of deal is actually possible: Gay simply does not fit in with the Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers are looking pretty much everywhere for ways to improve the team.