Pujits breakdown of the Bynum-Deng trade

You can find all of my basketball writing at www.pujits.com. Tonight I broke down the Luol Deng for Andrew Bynum trade here.

Breaking Down the Rudy Gay Trade

My better late than never thoughts on the seven player trade where the Toronto Raptors traded Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings:

What the trade means to the Kings:

The Kings take a bold step to add an above average wing player who is a significant upgrade over their existing options. It is well documented that Gay is an inefficient player but his usage rate should fall now that he is sharing the floor with DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas. I don’t think Gay makes the Kings a playoff team in the Western Conference but he makes the team better. They will have an intriguing offence but I don’t think a Gay, Cousins and Derrick Williams frontcourt is going to make a lot of stops. It will be entertaining at least. There is also a small possibility that Gay opts out of his contract after this year. It is unlikely that the Kings will be able to lure a marquee free agent this summer so the loss of cap room is not
a crippling move. Gray and Acy are depth players only.

The trading of Vasquez gives much deserved full time starting minutes to Isaiah Thomas. It will be interesting to see who the backup point guard will be now that minutes are available. I think the Kings need to give Jimmer Fredette these minutes to see what they have and to possibly showcase him for a potential trade.

What the trade means to the Raptors :

The Raptors finally set a course for a much needed rebuild with this trade as it gets them out of Gay’s contract and gives them flexibility to make additional moves.

Vasquez gives the Raptors a point guard to replace Kyle Lowry when he is eventually traded later this year.

Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes can be solid role players and can be used as future pieces of a trade at the deadline. John Salmons is simply a salary that the Raptors had to take on to make this trade work.

I would grade the trade as a A- for the Raptors and a C+ for the Kings. What are your thoughts on the trade? Hit me up on Twitter at @jefflingard and let me know.