Recently acquired Toronto Raptors forward Rudy Gay, is a very gifted player player who on any night can go toe to toe with any player in the NBA. However, seven years into his career, he has yet to make the all-star team or cement himself as one of the elite players in the league although he’s being compensated as if he has.
So when the Memphis Grizzlies new ownership decided to shed some salary, he became a casualty and Gay feels he wasn’t given the opportunity to show there’s a next level he can go to.
“You have to give me a chance to see if I’m worth that,” Gay told Yahoo! Sports.
The Raptors forward said he wasn’t totally caught off-guard with the trade as his name was bandied about in rumors since last season.
“With [new management], I don’t think anybody’s comfortable,” Gay said. “They’re rookie owners. They come in there and they want it their own way, and you can’t blame them for that. But it’s a player’s league.”
Gay feels good about the trade to Toronto, citing the need for a new challenge in his career and is optimistic about the future.
“I needed a change,” Gay said of the trade. “I needed a new situation. A new task. I needed a new task with something I could grasp, something I could take over. I need to be challenged. I was challenged in Memphis, but it was tug of war at times. Here I’m being challenged and they’re seeing what I’m made of.”
“Last time I left it up to my agent and it worked for me,” Gay said. “I love the city. I think the team has a lot of potential. The organization is great. [Colangelo] is here and he is watching every step trying to make this team better.”
I think with a training camp under his belt with his new teammates and the freedom to be “the guy” in Toronto without the restrictions of a post-up offense like he had to deal with in Memphis, Rudy Gay can blossom into an elite forward in the NBA. It’s up to him to capitalize on the opportunity he’s been waiting for.