This guy was picked @ #2
Is he more valuable than Gay? (Dont answer with your opinion of Darko)
It's easy to say, that he is not as valuable as Gay after his career played out. But we don't know that much about this years draft picks. As fans we might have watched a few youtube-videos, maybe did a little research on draft express and the very few hardcore basketball fans watched a few college games. Therefore we simply can't make the statement, if this years #3 pick has more or less value than Rudy Gay. Heck most GM's and scouts don't know how a particular player will look in a few years.
What we do know for sure is, that Rudy Gay is an expiring contract, if he doesn't use his player option in 2017, which is unlikely, because he is signed below market value right now and most likely wants to cache in on his last big contract, before he starts to decline. Which raises the question, if Gay wants tor resign with SAC. Most likely we won't be contenders in a year and if he keeps up his current offensive production I think some contending team will make an offer for Rudy as a 3rd option or as the leader of their bench. Most contending teams already have a strong defensive core in place and can afford to hide his lackluster defense a bit or they hope, that the intensity of their locker room leaders will up Rudy's intensity level on that end and turns him into the plus defender he has every tool to be.
We on the other hand know, that Rudy so far failed to be our second option and couldn't keep the team afloat, when DMC went out. We know, that his defense hurts us and that his effort level was subpar after Malone was fired. We know, that he doesn't really fit the vision of the team most of us think Joerger and Vlade want to build. And we know, that our chances to become a team able to make deep playoffs runs, before Cousins contract is up for an extension are slim. Of course we all (or most of us) hope, that our big man is loyal enough to give this FO another chance to assemble the right pieces in SAC, but we can't know it for sure.
So assuming some of us don't count on DMC to resign and they don't think Gay is the right complimentary piece for this team given his contract situation and strengths and weaknesses on the court, it makes sense as a fan of this franchise to vote for a Gay trade this offseason and to hope we get young pieces with lots of upside in return, that fit the vision of our FO for this team (defense, ball movement, length).
There is nothing unreasonable or stupid or insulting to think trading Gay is the right way moving forward. And it's not unreasonable to want young, unproven players back, when you don't count on the loyalty of DMC.
Therefore I think all the snarkyness and the heated exchanges between users on this topic are pretty unnecessary. Both sides have reasonable arguments.
And of course the value of players like Jaylen Brown depends highly on the way the franchise drafting or aquiring this player wants to take and the current status the franchise is in now or will be in in a couple of years.
Given that the Celtics are much closer to become a contender than we are, it isn't unreasonable at all, that the value of Jaylen Brown for the Kings is actually higher than it is for the Celtics.
