Gay was never too fond of Memphis. He seriously considered leaving when he became a free agent in 2010, but he couldn’t turn down a maximum extension. Gay signed for the money, not because he was attached or in love with Memphis.
Also, the Grizzlies were concerned that if they waited until the offseason to trade Gay, he would be able to hold the team hostage since he has a player option for the 2014-15 season. If Gay decided he was going to opt out of the final $19,317,326 of his contract to sign a new long-term deal, he would have some control over where he landed since he could scare teams off by refusing to make a long-term commitment. The Grizzlies didn’t want this situation to mirror what the Denver Nuggets had to go through when they traded Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was in the final year of his contract and he refused to commit long-term to any team other than the New York Knicks, which left Denver with limited options.
Another aspect that has been overlooked is Gay’s shaky relationship with Zach Randolph. Behind the scenes, Gay and Randolph had butted heads for quite awhile. While Gay and Randolph tolerated each other, they weren’t close and had several spats over the years.
There were a lot of things happening behind the scenes that forced the Grizzlies’ hand. Gay was already upset with the trade rumors and delaying the inevitable would have made things worse, especially considering their options could’ve been severely limited if Gay played his cards right. Not to mention, Gay and Randolph had butted heads, so it’s not like the Grizzlies broke up a perfect team that was guaranteed to make a deep postseason run. This was a dysfunctional situation.
Now, the Grizzlies not only shed some salary, but they also acquired Tayshaun Prince, who is a good fit in Memphis, as well as a very promising young player in Ed Davis.
This was the right time to trade Gay, even if it seemed questionable from the outside looking in.
