Who is John Leuer?

[bocabull]

Cavs just got Speights, Ellington, Selby & a 1st round pick for a guy I've never heard of.

Salary dump?

 

[NickZepp]

Why the first round pick?

 

[coolm]

salary dump by Memphis. they were going to be hurting bad in the luxury tax dept. if they didnt address it.

i think this puts them under.

 

[ouleaf]

salary dump by Memphis. they were going to be hurting bad in the luxury tax dept. if they didnt address it.

i think this puts them under.

this...small market teams are really going to have to hope they hit on their draft picks going forward, b/c its going be more difficult for them to sign any big name free agents. Not really fair, but it's just the way it is.

 

[jmizzy4ou]

this...small market teams are really going to have to hope they hit on their draft picks going forward, b/c its going be more difficult for them to sign any big name free agents. Not really fair, but it's just the way it is.

Exactly right. I t was the only way to keep Gay, Z-Bo, and Conley intact, and still get under the luxury tax threshold.....

 

[stoops4pres]

Exactly right. I t was the only way to keep Gay, Z-Bo, and Conley intact, and still get under the luxury tax threshold.....

Yep. This basically means that they are keeping the core intact for this season and will see how far they can go.

I'm not particularly a fan of this trade, but I understand it. On one hand, this enables Memphis to get under the tax for this season by dealing assets that shouldn't cause severe damage from their departures. While Speights was solid for Memphis, paying your 4th big at a $4 million price is too much. I think Leuer can provide 80% of the value while paid at 20% of the cost. Ellington can't consistently be relied on, and Poindexter is a better player at his position (he returns from injury soon). And Wroten is a better player than Selby. If injuries plague this team, then all of these positives will probably be hindered, but for the time being I'm willing to accept these changes.

Plus, this gives the Grizzlies more leverage when discussing trade scenarios over the offseason. This is basically a foregone conclusion, because there is no way they can avoid steep tax penalties unless they break up a portion of their core. I think that will be Rudy Gay. It's nobody's fault for this financial fiasco but Michael Heisley's, and that's a conversation to be discussed another day.

On the other hand, I hate that they gave Cleveland the possibility of getting a lottery pick for the sake of a salary dump (which is the crux of why I'm not in love with this deal). With that being said, I wouldn't be shocked if this was the best trade they could get. If that's the case, then I can move on.

 

[Smash Williams]

I think it was one of the best deals Memphis could get under their circumstances. It saves more than $10 million this year (~$6 mil in salary, plus ~$4 mil in tax payments), plus whatever piece of the pie they now get from the tax redistribution as a non-tax-paying team; it also takes another $4.5 mil in salary off the books for next season. Even though the latter likely isn't enough to enable the Grizzlies to keep Gay next season, it 1) gives them more flexibility in a potential Gay trade, as they can take back a little more salary, and/or 2) allows them to add or re-sign free agents who fit their needs more than Speights did.

Given that Cleveland is taking on more than $10 million in additional salary over this season and next season (while saving Memphis even more than that), the pick seems like fair compensation, especially with the top protections on it severely reducing the likelihood of it completing blowing up in Memphis' face.

 

[stoops4pres]

I think it was one of the best deals Memphis could get under their circumstances. It saves more than $10 million this year (~$6 mil in salary, plus ~$4 mil in tax payments), plus whatever piece of the pie they now get from the tax redistribution as a non-tax-paying team; it also takes another $4.5 mil in salary off the books for next season. Even though the latter likely isn't enough to enable the Grizzlies to keep Gay next season, it 1) gives them more flexibility in a potential Gay trade, as they can take back a little more salary, and/or 2) allows them to add or re-sign free agents who fit their needs more than Speights did.

Given that Cleveland is taking on more than $10 million in additional salary over this season and next season (while saving Memphis even more than that), the pick seems like fair compensation, especially with the top protections on it severely reducing the likelihood of it completing blowing up in Memphis' face.

I agree. Heisley anteing up on Rudy Gay when it wasn't warranted nor necessary is primarily why the franchise is currently in this financial mess. There wasn't ever going to be a great outcome for the Grizzlies; if it weren't for the possibility of losing a lottery pick (or 1st rounder in general), I'd be about as ecstatic for a salary dump as can be. Like I said, I can live with this trade with that 1st rounder included, because that was likely the best possible outcome Memphis could get.

 

[NickZepp]

Sounds like the Grizzlies are in talks with the Raptors to trade Gay.

 

[thebigabd]

Sounds like the Grizzlies are in talks with the Raptors to trade Gay.

I am guessing the Raptors would have to give up Calderon or Lowry and Bargnani for Gay.