Even though James Harden was traded back in October, the recent trade of Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors is the first big move of NBA trade season. In the month leading up to the February 21, 2013 trade deadline, front offices are searching to make moves to make their teams better now, set themselves up for the future, or both. The active Grizzles have already made 2 moves, unloading a large chunk of their bench to get under the luxury tax and then trading the underperforming Gay to get out of paying the remaining three years on his max contract. Here's who they've acquired and lost within the past two weeks.
Received | Traded |
| Tayshaun Prince (from Pistons) | Rudy Gay (to Raptors) |
| Ed Davis (from Raptors) | Marreese Speights (to Cavaliers) |
| Austin Daye (from Pistons) | Wayne Ellington (to Cavaliers) |
| Jon Leuer (from Cavaliers) | Josh Selby (to Cavaliers) |
Speights, Ellington, and Selby were traded in a cap-saving effort to get under the luxury tax for this season. Unfortunately, this cut into their already thin bench, something the Grizzlies mitigated with the Gay trade. As noted in the new collective bargaining agreement, teams will be met with much higher penalties for being over the luxury tax. I think other teams may that Memphis' cue and make similar preemptive moves before the deadline to comply so they end up paying big fines. Gay is a very interesting player, and this trade was one of the more polarizing ones among fans in recent memory.
