The NBA season is only a week old but NBA Trade Rumors are still going strong. The Sacramento Kings are still looking for a partner that will take the disgruntled SF , Rudy Gay to another team for a potential lineup changer. But, why hasn’t anyone bitten yet? The answer for that is because teams are waiting. The Kings are desperate to ship him off so they could get something in return, rather than letting him walk at the end of the season and get zero talent in return.
The latest rumored destination for Gay is the Portland Trail Blazers. But, many Blazers fans are not feeling this deal. While no players have been named, the one team that has the pieces to make this work is actually the Blazers. The Kings, if they were to lose Gay will still have Omri Casspi to fill that void but a trade with the Blazers could very well fetch them, Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Meyers Leonard or maybe even Allen Crabbe. Blazers fans see home grown talent with those players and feel a change may mess up chemistry, but this is the NBA and title chances are slim.
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The Blazers could give up Aminu and Crabbe and still come out on top of this trade. While both are great assets to the Blazers, neither brings what Gay does. Gay is a scorer and rebounder and to team him with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum will be the equivalent of a Big Three for the Blazers. If the Blazers can pull this off they will have cemented themselves as a top 3 team in the West. As it stands now they are top 5 but a move for Gay would make this team as dangerous as the Cleveland Cavaliers with their firepower.
The Blazers would still keep Evan Turner, Mason Plumlee, Ed Davis and Harkless to go along with their new Big Three. Crabbe, while solid and young is still a reserve and Aminu is a stat stuffer but his departure would mean more minutes and shots for Turner who could take over the SF spot and place Gay at PF or Turner off the bench. Either way, this is a win-win for both teams.
The Kings will get younger and shed some salary and the Blazers will improve from the perimeter. This move is not the same as Kevin Durant heading to Golden State but it will force the Warriors look over their shoulder to see how close the Blazers are.