Last night, Yahoo Sports reported that the Toronto Raptors had shipped off Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray, and Quincy Acy to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson, and Chuck Hayes. What does this deal mean for both teams? It's easy to see where the Raptors are coming from. Toronto's new general manager, Masai Ujiri, is clearly trying to shed cap space. He already got rid of Andrea Bargnani's massive contract in the offseason. Now he's actually found a team willing to take the expensive Gay, who is likely to opt in to a player option which will gain him an additional $19.3 million next season. With this trade, not only does Toronto set themselves up financially for the future, they may have gotten better in the short term as well. There's a reason Gay's been traded for the second time in less than a year. Although he's an athletic wing player who can handle the ball and slash to the hoop, Gay is an inefficient shooter who takes too many shots and doesn't pass as much as he should. Ball movement is stagnant during his time on the court, with floor-spacing offensive sets turning into isolation post-up fadeaways far too often. The Memphis Grizzlies seemed to have more success without him in the lineup, and the Raptors have a chance to do the same. The pieces they are acquiring aren't great by any means, but all four are quality rotation players that provide Toronto with depth they'll need for their playoff push in the abysmal Eastern Conference. Understanding the King's reasons for agreeing to this trade is a little more difficult. Acquiring Gay does not dramatically improve their team. And a team with no realistic aspirations of making the playoffs this season taking on a hefty contract makes little sense. Vasquez departing does open the door for Isiah Thomas to take over as the full time point guard. A team with scorers like Thomas, Gay, and Cousins will certainly be exciting to watch. But the defense under new coach Mike Malone has been atrocious, and a player like Gay isn't going to improve that. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who used to be a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors, was reportedly very fond of ex-Warriors guard Monta Ellis, another inefficient, high volume scorer. This is a reason an NBA owner shouldn't have a lot of say in personnel decisions. Much like the Warriors' first year under new ownership, it seems as if the Kings are trying to become a good team too quickly, leading to rash decisions that may not be in the best interest of the team. While they wisely did not give up a pick from the upcoming draft, the Kings need to realize being one of the best teams to not make the playoffs doesn't pay off. Good teams are built by developing young talent, accumulating lottery picks, (and making the right selections) spending wisely in free agency, and making trades that are both beneficial and will not hurt them down the road. The transformation of a franchise doesn't happen overnight. And overpaying to go from poor to mediocre is not a positive step.
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