A lot of teams will give Rudy Gay a look next summer if his game continues to climb.
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[h1]Grizzlies' Gay joining group of younger players on the cusp[/h1]
Posted Dec 17 2009 10:36AM
Everyone wants to know who's got next. On the playground, that means the next game. In the NBA, that means the next star.
Every year, about a dozen young players strain to reach the next level, and roughly a half-dozen fail, because as Hawks coach Mike Woodson said, "It's tough to take the big step up and become an All-Star. People just don't know about the hard work that's needed. The dedication. The effort. It doesn't happen overnight. And it doesn't happen to just anyone."
After five or six years, if a player isn't an All-Star, chances are he'll never become one. He may make a comfortable living, become a big part of a championship team, maybe even play long enough to get a nice pension. But never a star. Never quite "star" enough.
Another group is making a run this year and a fair number should finally break through. Deron Williams is as close to a guarantee as it gets. Rajon Rondo, Andre Iguodala and Josh Smith, to name a few others, will have a shot.
And Rudy Gay. He's typical of the players on the fence, someone with obvious talent who just needs the benefit of time and to add to his game to get universal respect in the basketball world.
It's all starting to come together for Gay. What sets his case apart are the other factors.
He plays for a team that struggles for attention and desperately needs a star, in light of the failed Allen Iverson experiment. As a restricted free agent next summer, he's playing for money.
This presents a perplexing situation. On one hand, the Grizzlies would love for Gay to have a breakout season, roust interest in a city that's yawning right now at pro basketball, and help the team make a surprise push toward the playoffs. And yet, if he does all of that and chips in an All-Star appearance, will they be able to afford him next season?
The better he plays, the more he drives up his value, and the less likely Memphis will be able to write a check big enough to either pay him or match another team's offer. The Grizzlies aren't a big-market team by any stretch, nor do they have the Knicks' budget. If anything, the realities of the recession are hurting the franchise as much, if not more, than others. In a recent promotion, they lowered some seats to $3 for their game against Oklahoma City, partly to celebrate the team's three-game winning streak (including back-to-back wins against the Mavs and Cavs) but also with the hopes of a sellout. The cheap seats were a hit, but the announced crowd of just over 13,000 came up short of a full house.
The Grizzlies originally hoped Iverson would help solve the attendance problem. Now they can only hope that the fans in Memphis realize the team isn't as bad as the last few years. Gay is a big part of that.
"I just had to become more aggressive than in the past," he said. "That was really the only thing holding me back. I had to attack more and accept more responsibility, and I have."
He's averaging 21 points a game, slightly more than the last two years, but his game is more well-rounded. He's pushing career highs in rebounds and steals as well. He's also not always motivated to make the spectacular dunk anymore -- although if the situation presents itself, Gay is willing to oblige.
His pattern of appearing and disappearing in games followed him from Connecticut. His talent was obvious, but Gay didn't realize how good he could be. Now he does. And so do others.
He's on the short list of players who would be a big help to LeBron James and/or Dwyane Wade, wherever those franchise free agents land in 2010-11. Wade would love to have Gay in Miami, especially after Gay dropped a career-high 41 points on Wade last Sunday. That wasn't merely by accident. That was a message sent.
Figure that LeBron wouldn't mind having Gay in New York as a co-star, should LeBron leave Cleveland for the big city.
"It's definitely flattering," Gay said.
Memphis didn't extend Gay's contract last summer. It was business, nothing personal, and Gay said he understood. But teams have taken note of the Grizzlies' financial plight and might swoop for a steal come next July.
"It's hard to say what might happen," he said. "So many things will come into play. I'll just wait and, in the meantime, concentrate on what I can do this season for this team."
If he keeps his current pace, he'll be in the running for a reserve spot on the All-Star team, assuming Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant have two small forward spots locked up. It helps that the Grizzlies are not the team that averaged 23 wins the last three years, with Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo giving Memphis second and third options.
"That would be my dream, to be an All-Star," Gay said. "That's what I've been striving for."
I didn't think about it, but Gay really can make the all-star team this year. If Memphis anywhere close to .500 and in the playoff hunt, hewill definitely be in there.
