The future looks bright for Memphis

I was in the minority when evaluating the Memphis Grizzlies going into the season. I figured that their lack of scoring depth, particularly on the perimeter would plague them so much so that they’d perhaps even miss the playoffs. They of course won’t.

I once again found myself in the minority by thinking the best thing Memphis did this season, at least insofar as solidifying future campaigns while still making them relevant this season, was trading away Rudy Gay.

When the Grizzlies shipped Gay to the Raptors those that opposed the move reasoned that in the process Memphis also gave away their only shot at success this season. I was in the camp that saw the move as one the savviest of the season; one that extricated themselves from paying a not one time All Star (albeit an excellent contributor) $19 million per season while also bringing in Tayshaun Prince, a player these days a notch or two below Gay, yet on a much more workable salary.

While I may have got my opening evaluation of Memphis wrong regarding their playoff credentials I won’t be giving ground on the issue of trading Gay.

The Grizzlies are currently on an eight game tear, albeit against gentle opposition. In that span their defence has returned to a league best ranking which was for a while stripped away by Indiana. They look to have also shored up a top 5 seed in the West which will be crucial in avoiding the big boys in first round.

Critics of the Gay trade will point to raw scoring numbers and suggest that Gay continues to be a significantly better performer, yet most measures suggest that moving Prince into the line up has lost Memphis very little while in fact actually benefitting them sharply in certain situations.

For instance Memphis actually scores more with Prince on the court as opposed to Gay while at this stage the strongest indication of Prince’s value lies in defence. Memphis concedes just 92 points per 100 possessions with Prince on the court while that numbers degenerates to almost 101 when he rests.

Understandably the sample size isn’t enormous while most of the success Memphis is enjoying of late hasn’t exactly been at the expense of too many decent outfits. Yet if nothing else Memphis doesn’t seem to have lost too much from their high profiled move.

Contrary to fears Memphis come play-off time will be pretty much where they would have been with Gay while they’re receiving good output from some of the other cogs in the trade. Former Gonzaga star and first round pick Austin Daye has contributed career best numbers over his first few games in Tennessee while Ed Davis promises plenty.

Most importantly however, Memphis can approach the next free agency period unburdened by the Gay contract on their books and go about adequately addressing some of the imbalances of the roster while remaining one of the best teams in the league.

The future is bright in Memphis. I wouldn’t have felt comfortable writing those words four months ago.