Memo to Memphis: Yes, it is devastating that you broke up your “Core Four.” Your mass misery gave us a Tweet of the Day from Mike Conley and Tony Allen.
But guess what?
You won the trade. You just got Tayshaun Prince, who might be the missing ingredient to make y’all a legit championship contender. You also get Ed Davis, who basically replaces tax dump victim Marreese Speights, who was valuable from a depth standpoint.
Oddly, this is sort of like getting Chauncey Billups in exchange for Allen Iverson. Remember how that worked out for the Pistons? It’ll be the opposite for the Grizzlies.
I like Rudy Gay. But when the guy who is leading your team in scoring is shooting a shade above 40 percent, you have a problem.
When you are clearly fourth best in the West and a long way from cracking the top 3, you have a problem.
When you can’t shoot 3s, you have a problem. Prince is shooting .434 this season on 3s, a career-high. Gay was shooting 31 percent on 3s.
Ever hear the axiom about how you need veterans to win?
You starting to hear me here?
Plus, Grizzlies fans, you already had another problem:
You had no one on the roster aside from defender extraordinaire Tony Allen who had gotten out of the second round of the playoffs, much less played in the NBA Finals.
Prince has 118 games of playoff experience and owns a championship ring. Nobody other than Allen (56 with Celtics, 20 with Memphis) has more than 28.
No Grizz has been to the conference finals with the Grizzlies. Prince went to the conference finals six times from 2003-08.
Bottom line. …
Raptors fans quit your whining. You got Rudy Gay and will still be stuck in purgatory. Nothing else to talk about.
Unbelievable, still not a single mention of the Raptors . . . . for a basketball website, where is the analysis on the Raptors? Oh, they are in Canada, no one cares about them. Typical NBA perspective. 5th largest market in North America and not a single mention. Oh it’s so cold in Canada . . . Toronto has the same temperature as New York and Boston.
Great analysis on the Raptors who got the best player in the trade Sheridan.
THANK YOU!! As soon as i heard they were getting Prince, I thought the same thing! Rudy Gay is fine and dandy, but he’s not as good on defense, can’t hit perimeter shots and was making way too much for what little he really brought to the table. Prince gives you perimeter scoring, superior defense and is more than willing to be a complimentary piece instead of the star.
I don’t get why such a big deal is getting made out of Prince’s 3 shooting. He’s a career 37% shooter and he’s only made 23 this season.
Nothing on the Raptors? That’s pathetic . . they were involved in this trade, right?
John – Haven’t you heard? Acquiring good players and winning titles isn’t important anymore. You have to have a “sustainable team” and avoid the luxury tax at ALL costs, including wins.