Well ****, I go to the gym, come back and we have Rudy Gay while shipping out multiple poor contracts and dead weight.
I'm mixed on this as I'm not that big a Gay fan but, and it's important, he's a legit 2nd option who can get his own shot. He can board. He's at least average defensively. Yes he can be a black hole but I'm going to wait and see what effect Malone has, what effect Cuz being the clear top option has and will wait to see if Gay will refuse hitting a guy like MLM off a double. You never truly know how a guy fits in new surroundings with different talent around him. I've been campaigning hard to get a legit 2nd option since we let Reke go and well I'll be damned, PDA, you pulled it off and did so without moving MLM, JT or even IT.
How Gay adjusts to us and how much success he has as a 2nd option obviously remains to be seen. I haven't read this entire thread as I just got home but I do see people talking about Rudy's time at Mem. Point taken. But, I don't see people talking about Rudy's time with Team USA(might haven't read it yet) where he happily played more as a role player and committed to defense and moving the ball. If we can get some of that Gay here, knowing Cuz is the first option and being willing to move the ball when doubled, this could be a good fit.
Is he the perfect player? No. Doesn't solve our defensive issues but he doesn't hurt them either. He actually probably helps a bit as he starts and we have Williams backing him up(at least some mins) which is a much more solid SF rotation than we previously had. Our defensive improvement for the most part will have to come at the PF and PG positions. IT starting will help instead of GV but we still need a PG upgrade this summer. We also need a legit starting, defensive minded PF next to Cuz. But our defensive issues were never going to be solved by bringing in a SF so the concentration on Gay's defense misses the point imo.
We just got a VERY valuable asset. If he works out, a Cuz/Gay/MLM trio is a pretty good start. If he doesn't work out, we have a valuable expiring next year and a huge chunk of salary coming off the books. And while I think this makes our starting unit better, our bench has been gutted so for all you pro-tankers out there, I'm not really worried that this suddenly means we start winning and our pick is in jeopardy. This team still isn't built all that well. But what we have done is added a very talented asset.
BTW, **** the national media. We watch this team 82 times per year and know our guys in and out. National media doesn't. Same media who thought Smart and Westy were not a problem and same media who thought Cuz wouldn't be a star. Give me a break. Who gives a flying **** what Chad Ford or Adande or Woj or anyone else thinks who doesn't follow this team closely.