Amid circulating rumors that the Memphis Grizzlies are considering trading their talented, but overpaid, swingman. Although Gay is a talented scorer, he is owed about $40 million over the next two seasons and keeping him would potentially incur a hefty luxury tax on the small market Grizzlies.
Thus, the Grizzlies are looking to ship him off fast, as he's been involved in several trade rumors this season. Here are the top three destinations in where he can end up.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors (23-13) are young, talented an built to win down the road. They have the cap room to accommodate Gay and could use his experience to mentor their young swingmen in Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson.
Although Thompson is having a breakout year, Barnes has been criticized for tentativeness and lack of explosiveness on an every-night basis. Not to say Gay is an every-night, grind-it-out player, but he could give Barnes valuable leadership to follow.
Gay could be the kind of well-rounded scorer that could compliment Stephen Curry and bring the Warriors to the next level in the West.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have long been rumored main contenders in the Gay sweepstakes, and for good reason. Their aging roster is devoid of a prime shooter and scorer like Gay, and he is the perfect piece to jump start an offense that places too much of the burden on Rajon Rondo.
Rondo has voiced his support of acquiring Gay, as the two are close friends. They could be a solid core for the Celtics to build around for the future and to move on from the Big Three era.
The only problem is that Boston may lack the trade assets necessary to land Gay. Memphis, despite its frugality, won’t let go of Gay for nothing. Memphis would most likely be interested in some combination of Paul Pierce or Avery Bradley, but Pierce is too old and expensive to justify letting go of Gay for Memphis.
Los Angeles Clippers
This could be the ideal situation for both teams: the Grizzlies receive a much needed point guard (Eric Bledsoe), they lower their payroll and they receive a decent replacement for Gay (Caron Butler).
The Clippers get Gay to play small forward, playing the role of contributing scorer and shooter on a serious contender. This move would certainly make the Clippers dangerous and one of the favorites to come out of the West.
I can already picture the Western Conference Finals: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook vs Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Gay.
