Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 8:00 am  |  132 responses

Top 50: Rudy Gay, no. 44

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by JeffRudy Gay Fox

High up in his office at the NBA’s headquarters, commissioner David Stern sits silently plotting which territory his league will conquer next on a giant world map.  He is interrupted by his secretary buzzing in on his phone.

Secretary – Sir, Mr. Gay is here to see you.

Stern – Send him in please.

Rudy Gay enters the room, kneels before Stern and kisses his ring.

Stern – Rudy, my son, to what do I owe this pleasure?

Gay – Godfather Stern, I have come to humbly ask a favor of you.

Stern – We’ll get to that, my son.  But first I want to congratulate you on the summer you are having.  I’m hearing good things about you my boy.  Your putting on muscle to enable you to have a more formidable post up game to go along with your already strong slashing and outside shooting abilities.  I also heard good things from USA Basketball – you opened a lot of eyes while at their camp.

Gay – Thank you Godfather Stern – it has been an eventful summer.

Stern – Mark my words Rudy – you’re going to be a star, kid.  You just turned 23-years-old – you haven’t even come close to reaching your potential yet.  You have great size for a small forward, you can knock down the three or slash to the hoop.  You will be one of the top scorers in the League before long.  You also have the potential to be a lockdown defender and above average rebounder if you put your mind to it.  The sky’s the limit for you my son.

Gay – Thank you Godfather Stern – it is quite an honor hearing this come out of the mouth of such a great and powerful man like yourself.

Stern – I mean everything I say, Rudy my boy.  Now, you mentioned something about a favor.  Is this about that travesty of a Top 50 player list that SLAMonline just came out with?  No. 44 for such a great talent like yourself is a slap in the face of all that is good and just in the world.  You’re only a few spots ahead of that one-dimensional Ben Gordon.  Say the word Rudy and I’ll “have a word” with those know-nothing SLAM writers.

Gay – No, no – it has nothing to do with that.  I’m honored to be ranked at No. 44.  What I wanted to talk to you about was the ball.

Stern – The ball?  We already took those synthetic balls from the past out for a little drive in the desert - they won’t be heard from again, if you catch my drift.

Gay – No, I’m talking about the number of balls that are used in a game.  I humbly ask that you consider having two balls in play at the same time during our games next year, Mr. Godfather sir.

Stern – And why would you want us to do that?

Gay – Well, to be considered one of the top scorers in the League, which I should be, I will need to get plenty of touches each game.  O.J. Mayo was just a rookie last season and he still took more shots than I did.  Now the wise guys that run our team have decided to add Mr. Black Hole, Zach Randolph, to the roster.  I’ll need an extra ball in play just to get up enough shots.

Stern – I like that idea, my boy.  It would help us sell more balls.  It would raise scoring levels, and we know how much fans like scoring.  Plus, with more teams hitting the 100-point threshold every game, you know what that would mean?

Gay – No, what?

Stern – More free chalupas!!  Everyone loves chalupas, especially when they are free.  I will take this two ball idea into serious consideration, young Rudy.  And if I decide against it, the least I will do is “have a word” with Mr. Randolph and Mr. Mayo.

(Shortly after this story was written Zach Randolph “mysteriously” vanished off the face of the earth and O.J. Mayo woke up one morning with the stuffed head of the Grizzlies mascot, Grizz, in his bed).

Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto.

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’09-10 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Brett Ballantini, Russ Bengtson, Toney Blare, Shannon Booher, Myles Brown, Franklyn Calle, Gregory Dole, Emry DowningHall, Jonathan Evans, Adam Fleischer, Jeff Fox, Sherman Johnson, Aaron Kaplowitz, John Krolik, Holly MacKenzie, Ryne Nelson, Chris O’Leary, Ben Osborne, Alan Paul, Susan Price, Sam Rubenstein, Khalid Salaam, Kye Stephenson, Adam Sweeney, Vincent Thomas, Tzvi Twersky, Justin Walsh, Joey Whelan, Eric Woodyard, and Nima Zarrabi.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • Moose Posted: Sep.4 at 8:14 am
    The gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

  • Moose Posted: Sep.4 at 8:17 am
    But that was a great way of getting across your point as to why Gay is lower than he possibly should be. If he were in most other cities his production last year would be huge; and he would be higher on this list. New campaign here: FREE RUDY GAY.

  • Yesse Posted: Sep.4 at 8:18 am
    Was that conversation 4real right there?Because its bunch of bullshit.Anyways Gay as number 44.I think he should have been atleast in the top 30.

  • Ken Posted: Sep.4 at 8:30 am
    That last note is hilarious.

  • Overtime Posted: Sep.4 at 8:33 am
    He could absolutely be a beast if he works a little more on a consistent jumper and moving the ball a little bit more (tho as Jeff touched on, there is a reason you dont give up the ball on the Grizzlies…it doesnt come back). his size/speed combination doesnt differ all that much from a Lebron Jamesm and as Moose says above, on a team worth watching he would be much more recognised

  • Bryan Posted: Sep.4 at 8:34 am
    Who’s next micheal redd?

  • Ken Posted: Sep.4 at 8:34 am
    Oh, and “know-nothing.”

  • Bryan Posted: Sep.4 at 8:41 am
    I’m just wondering if memphis has 2 players and some teams have 3 and four what teams aren’t repped here.

  • Clockwork Posted: Sep.4 at 8:57 am
    the clippers?

  • Hursty Posted: Sep.4 at 9:05 am
    Houston. If Ariza, Scola and Brooks aren’t on it now, they aren’t getting in later. I’ve started to lose hope…

  • Moose Posted: Sep.4 at 9:18 am
    Hursty has a good point. All other teams WILL be repped.

  • Michael Posted: Sep.4 at 9:18 am
    bucks? i cant see bogut getting on here, redd is no way better than any of the previous guys, so who else is there? i figure i might be missing someone obvious. also knicks?

  • Brad Long Posted: Sep.4 at 9:19 am
    Wow. I was expecting early 30′s late 20′s for Rudy considering this is based on what SLAM writers think he’s gonna do next season and the monster summer he has had with Team USA. If he can touch the ball 20 times a game next year don’t be surprised if we’re talking about Rudy in the top 10 this time next year. And Hursty, I love Ariza and all, but if Rudy Gay is 44 we ain’t seeing RZA on the list this year. Sorry.

  • Michael Posted: Sep.4 at 9:19 am
    really, NY, milwaukee?

  • neaorin Posted: Sep.4 at 9:20 am
    Still looking forward to seeing the first jump ball ever to be called between two teammates.

  • ab_40 Posted: Sep.4 at 9:20 am
    wow lame written piece I think he’ll leave in a sign and trade next summer. because hamed hamedidi is a big star n all

  • Hursty Posted: Sep.4 at 9:23 am
    Of course we aren’t Brad – thats effectively what I just said lol. Ariza’s best chance would’ve been at 50, but even then, I highly doubted ( maybe 5% chance) he’d make it. Brooks and Scola though? More around 50% in the 45-50 placements.

  • James the balla Posted: Sep.4 at 9:34 am
    haha at neaorin!! Well I thought he would be around 35. I thought, SHaq or Mo would be here by now!!

  • James the balla Posted: Sep.4 at 9:39 am
    Anybody think Anthony Morrow is on this list?

  • Furious Posted: Sep.4 at 10:06 am
    Anthony Morrow can’t make the list. Gotta do it in the real league, not just the Summer league. Warriors have enough scorers already anyway.
    Don’t think I’m a fan of the story though. Seems like a bit of a soft option. Amusing enough though I guess.

  • Jukai Posted: Sep.4 at 10:08 am
    I wish this actually explained Rudy’s position better (ie Stern going on more about Rudy’s skillsets and negatives) but the story was cute.
    Can’t really argue

  • Jukai Posted: Sep.4 at 10:10 am
    Ariza and Brooks don’t deserve to be on the list. Scola woulda been on it by now if he was going to be on it. Not saying Ariza, Brooks, and Scola aren’t close to a top 50 list, but I don’t see them deserving to be on one, even if this IS about production for next season.

  • The Rudy Gay Pride Posted: Sep.4 at 10:24 am
    my man, the rude dude got ripped on this. i was honestly debating with friends yesterday, that he might go in the 23-28 range. what else does this guy have to do?! i feel bad for guys outside of memphis that don’t ever get to see him play. dude’s got hops and game. – maybe SLAM liked him so much they put him on the list twice and he’ll show back up in the 26 range.

  • Bryan Posted: Sep.4 at 10:33 am
    Rudy Gay is actually very good.

  • Orlando Woolridge Posted: Sep.4 at 10:50 am
    You mean some people can’t think of 50 other players better than Brooks?! WTF?

  • Hursty Posted: Sep.4 at 11:02 am
    Go and read the Iverson or Josh Howard comments, I’m not going over what I said there 5 posts later.

  • Orlando Woolridge Posted: Sep.4 at 11:10 am
    Yeah, because obviously you you don’t have a lot of free time to post here. I still don’t see it.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 11:14 am
    the list isn’t about who is a better player. It’s about who’s the most valuable player. Nash won TWO MVP’s deservedly, and he wasn’t a top-5 player either year.

  • Michael Posted: Sep.4 at 11:17 am
    crappy write-up, and way too low on this list

  • Dutch Rob Posted: Sep.4 at 11:20 am
    @Bryan
    If A.I Signs with them then memphis has 3:S
    And yes he actually is very good and should have been higher in my opinion.

  • Orlando Woolridge Posted: Sep.4 at 11:23 am
    Yes, I worded that wrong. You mean some people can’t think of 50 players who will be more valuable to their team next year than Brooks? Is that better?

  • SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) Posted: Sep.4 at 11:26 am
    I don’t really know if guys like Gay, Iguaodala,etc( track&field athletes that happen to play bball) are indeed top-50 in the NBA, i honestly don’t know, but if the are it just shows the demise of the skill level in the league (something that somebody with inside knowledge on the situation like Casey Jacobsen described a few days ago…).

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 11:27 am
    brad if we are talking about rudy gay as a top 10 player next year then a good portion of the league must have died.

  • monkeyball Posted: Sep.4 at 11:28 am
    If the list is based on projections for next season, Scola should appear soon. I think Scola will be a top-10 power forward next year.
    The problem is that SLAM analysts give too much weight to athleticism and not enough to basketball IQ, so I doubt he will make an appearance.

  • SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) Posted: Sep.4 at 11:32 am
    Slovenia: Udrich out, Vujasic out and the best of them all, Matias Smodic, propably out…
    Spain: Gasol injured, Rudy injured and almost out…
    The bball gods are working their magic to restore some balance for the upcoming European championship after the huge disadvantage Greece,Lithouania & Russia had since each one of them is missing their 2-3 best players from the begging….

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 11:36 am
    monkeyball, if Scola is a top-10 PF, then he’s better than one of the following: Duncan, Garnett, Gasol, Boozer, Brand, Aldridge, Dirk, Bosh, Stoudemire, or Davis West. Not to mention Josh Smith, Al Horford, or Al Jefferson.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 11:37 am
    I know I’m speaking for a lot of people, but SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) WTF are you talking about???

  • Hursty Posted: Sep.4 at 11:42 am
    My reasoning for Brooks/Scola is in the Iverson/Josh Howard sections.
    tavoris – Duncan played center 70% of the time last year. Same with Gasol and Al Jefferson. Smith plays the 3 as well.
    Actually, most of those guys play time at centre during the season for whatever reason. So did Scola this year, and last year.

  • Brad Long Posted: Sep.4 at 11:50 am
    The Grizzlies just made an offer to Mike Taylor. Best news I’ve heard all day.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 11:52 am
    Hursty, the fact remains that those players’ role as a PF still is more substantial than Scola’s will be this season (barring injury)

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 11:53 am
    does the offer to Iverson and Taylor mean that the Grizz have officially given up on Conley?

  • SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) Posted: Sep.4 at 11:58 am
    @tavoris….:Exactly!!!And between you(plural) lies the heart of the problem that Casey(comment 11:26) observed…(of course we never needed Casey to figure out the obvious…the comulative results of the U.S. teams at all age levels at the past decade were speaking louder and clearer that anything..).

  • SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) Posted: Sep.4 at 12:05 pm
    comparing the Olympic champion Scola (that toyed with Amare and Marion in the past singlehadenly kept a wounded Argentina in the game in last years semifinal against U.S.) with nobodys like Boozer(!!!), Brand (o.k. that was intentionally ironic ), West (and …Josh Smith???!!!!) is intentional comedy. Fortunatelly we get a lot of this here.

  • The Rudy Gay Pride Posted: Sep.4 at 12:21 pm
    what do “basketball-educated” but “non-memphians” think of Conley? i know about the Grizzlies because i live in memphis and go to games, i understand most don’t see anything but occasional rudy gay highlights on tv. i think Conley is a potential top 20 to low teens point guard in the league. he shot close to 50% from the field last year, and it wasn’t all layups. what do you guys think?

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Sep.4 at 12:22 pm
    rudy and kevin durant will be fighting for mvp trophies in the future., and u know that guy in ny, lebron something

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 12:26 pm
    Sofo….it’s too hard to spell your name…you are correct about Scola’s impact in the international game…but this is a list about the NBA game. you need to adjust your mindset, because the list is intentionally exclusive.

  • The Rudy Gay Pride Posted: Sep.4 at 12:26 pm
    i’d love it, but MVP? doubtful. i do think Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo will make All Star rosters within the next 3-5 years.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 12:32 pm
    rudy Gay, I think Conley is a quality backup PG. With his skill set, if he was 6’3″, he’d b pretty darn good as a starter

  • Darksaber Posted: Sep.4 at 12:38 pm
    Tavoris. Our Greek friend was talking about the injury situations on the stronger Euro national teams for the upcoming Euro tournament that starts this weekend. It’s also the qualifier for next years world championships in Turkey. 1st 4 teams qualify for Turkey ’010.

  • albie1kenobi Posted: Sep.4 at 12:44 pm
    just a point to ponder on: what if houston never traded rudy gay for mr perfect role player?

  • LeoneL Posted: Sep.4 at 12:47 pm
    “No. 44 for such a great talent like yourself is a slap in the face of all that is good and just in the world”…Word. Rudy Gay would have been higher on this list if he’s on another team. A team without OJ Mayo and Zach Randolph. With that being said, I believe that if Mayo plays the 1 full-time (yes he can do it and YES, he wants to do it), Rudy would have that All-Star berth coming up in no time. 44 at this time is just about right especially with Mayo slated to play the 2 most of the time in the upcoming season. @Sofo something: Scola’s good! But this is a list “based solely on projected ‘09-10 performance”. And in my very humble opinion, putting Scola in the top 50 would be too “risky”. Risky for SLAM(!) in the sense that we still don’t know whether he can become the second banana to (a healthy)T-Mac. So let it go and rejoice in the fact that you have the chance to tell us all “I told you so!” And as far as toying with Amare, I think you haven’t seen Amare toy with Luis in the NB freakin’ A. P.S.
    I wish Slam would honor certain HTML codes like for paragraphs so our comments don’t look like a dude speaking non-stop for four minutes.

  • LeoneL Posted: Sep.4 at 12:47 pm
    And yeah, I’m drunk.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 1:08 pm
    I got that Darksaber..I just didn’t see the relevance to Rudy Gay

  • Overtime Posted: Sep.4 at 1:12 pm
    Wonder where Al Jefferson will be at

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 1:20 pm
    albie1kinobi, it was a good move because TMac and Gay’s games are too similar. Gay’s growth would have been stunted.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 1:35 pm
    or gay’s growth would have been magnified considering he would have a perfect player to learn from. And tracy Mcgrady would have taught gay how to include his teammates effectively, something that took him some 6+ years to figure out, lord knows how long it’ll take gay.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 1:39 pm
    but then again tavoris is the guy that said dominique wilkins could average close to 40 ppg in todays NBA.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 1:45 pm
    nba…Gay wouldn’t have gotten the minutes he’s needed to develop in today’s NBA. In case you didn’t notice, the biggest complaint about Gay in college was his perceived lack of aggressiveness. Being “the man” in Memphis has cured that. And if you don’t realize how ‘Nique was an UNSTOPPABLE scorer as a Hawk, then your memory of NBA basketball can’t be very long. He was 2nd in the L in scoring behind Jordan practically EVERY year. And he’d be getting far more free throws now than he did back then. But then again, you ARE nbk, so I wont’ waste anymore keystrokes trying to discuss it with you.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 1:50 pm
    Nique was like Melo with MORE HOPS, quickness, and aggressiveness.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 1:55 pm
    Tavoris it boils down to the speed of the game and the fact that your a crazy person. Carmelo Anthony’s jumpshot is bettr then dominque wilkins jumpshot tenfold, and post game. Not to say Nique wasn’t a better athlete cuz that’s obvious but 40 a game? your crazy man. And do you know what else cures aggresiveness issues tavoris? maturity, which gay would have gained no matter where he played

  • cb 34 Posted: Sep.4 at 1:58 pm
    tavoris: Not 40 but i see nique easily averaging 33 to 35 ppg with today’s rules. He would be living on the line like karl malone. And probably only tim duncan and scottie pippen have been better at using the glass than nique. Scorer pure and simple.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 1:59 pm
    how many people have averaged above 35 in league history tavoris? thats the question you should ask yourself before you make crazy remarks. And then factor in that the pace of games is slower now then it has ever been. Then re-examine if anyone not named Michael or Wilt could average anywhere near 40 in todays NBA

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:00 pm
    dominique wilkins only averaged 30 twice.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:10 pm
    nbk…Nique was one of those athletes that would have translated well in today’s league. Also, you should try to read the posting rules before you call someone crazy. it only makes you look like an idiot that does more writing than reading. 1)No one said that he’d average 40 consistently every year. 2)He averages 30 twice in a more physical NBA, in which trips to the line were hard earned. 3)That would be Wilt, Elgin, Mike, Kobe, and Rick Barry. 4) to day that Gay woulda gained maturity without experience (consistent minutes) is truly crazy. He would have never HAD to be assertive if he was at Houston, becuase TMac and Yao are the alpha dogs.

  • cb 34 Posted: Sep.4 at 2:10 pm
    nbk: yeah nique averaged 30 only twice but he was always in the high 20′s. I think 30 ppg would be a safe assessment. It amazes me how nique could average that many points every season with hardly using his left hand. Even on the dribble he hardly used his left. Amazing!

  • onlyclipfanonslam Posted: Sep.4 at 2:11 pm
    Rudy hasn’t even stopped growing as a man, and he is already a physical beast. he could be higher for sure though.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:17 pm
    oh yeah tavoris because tmac and yao have been so consistently healthy during rudy gay’s career…….that trade for battier was because houston thought they were gonna win titles. that trade was a mistake, and winning while playing a smaller role does more for a player then playing on a terrible team and getting all the minutes. One thing you have to learn how to do in the NBA is win, and he definately isn’t doing that in Memphis. And like i said the pace of games is so much slower now a days that Nique would still end up getting to the line 7-10 times just like when he was scoring between 26 and 30 a game.

  • cb 34 Posted: Sep.4 at 2:17 pm
    Tavoris: You’re wrong. A player as talented as gay would have been fine whether it was memphis, houston or atlanta.. He’s too good not to get minutes. Just think of vince and t-mac in toronto, he would have gotten his opportunity eventually. That would have been cool if he was in houston, maybe he would have played the 2 most of the time.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:18 pm
    averaged 30 only twice…I guess 30ppg in the NBA when there were players like Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, and Mutombo roaming the paint was a VERY simple task. Who’s here to guard the basket now that’s on their level? Answer: Nobody.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:23 pm
    I don’t disagree that it was a GREAT trade for Memphis…however, Gay would not be where he is now as a player if he was at Houston. Sure, he would have had periods where he was the 1st option. His periods of being the first option have been FAR more plentiful in Memphis, and that was obviously shortened his learning curve.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:25 pm
    Who cares tavoris, the league is not that much different, those 8 guys are not the reason Nique didn’t average 40. haha he averaged 30 in a time where more points were scored, individually and as a team throughout the entire NBA and you still think your right?

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:26 pm
    cb…keeping Gay would have been a good move for the rockets AS A TEAM, but that doesn’t mean it would have been best for him AS A PLAYER.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:26 pm
    What is he learning by being the number 1 option down 15 tavoris really?

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:29 pm
    uh, he’s learning how to carry a team…how to be comfortable taking the big shot…he’s learning how to bring his A game every night. None of those things are learned while being the THIRD option.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:32 pm
    nbk…you’re presence and immaturity was sorely missed over the summer (not really). and what eight guys? I see five in one post and four in an unrelated post.

  • CJ Posted: Sep.4 at 2:33 pm
    Based on 09-2010 projections? Gay over Jameer Nelson?

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:36 pm
    lol tavoris it was an over estimate, sorry those 5 guys aren’t the reason nique didn’t average 40. either way. And you cannot tell me you think Rajon Rondo would be as good as he is right now if he played for Memphis instead of boston…..and that fact right there, proves why Rudy Gay would have been better off the third option in houston in the playoffs then the first option in memphis winning once every 4 games

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:39 pm
    nbk…who mentioned rondo?

  • cb 34 Posted: Sep.4 at 2:41 pm
    cj: Absolutely yes! Gay is way way better than meer.I’ve been reading the posts the last few days and a lot of people love jameer. I don’t get it! I think meer’s leadership is way overrated. Yeah he can hit the open jumper and a few times he’s shown he’s clutch but they abuse him on d all the time. Plus let’s not forget his coming back messed up orlando in the finals. Never been a fan. Gay however is a very talented kid and he will be a staple in the all star game one day.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:41 pm
    I did you obviously just read that

  • SOFOKLIS SCHORTSIANITIS(down to 130 kg!!!) Posted: Sep.4 at 2:42 pm
    @Darksaber….:first 5 teams make it to the worlds.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:45 pm
    and there is one BIG difference in Rondo and Gay…rondo isn’t playing behind anybody.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:46 pm
    And who would gay be sitting behind Tavoris in houston? go ahead ill wait

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:47 pm
    and don’t say TMac because they would both start

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:54 pm
    cb 34…SVG messed up the Magic…he should have kept Nelson out of that situation.

  • Niya-girl-fresh Posted: Sep.4 at 2:55 pm
    Rudy Gay, he’s a good player no complaints here. Gotta see how he’ll excell this season though, something like Danny Granger and Devin Harris did.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 2:56 pm
    nbk….Rondo is a point guard…T-Mac and Gay are both 2-3…if you don’t realize that EVEN AS A STARTER, he wouldn’t have gotten as many opportunities in Houston, then you obviously don’t even play basketball.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:58 pm
    thats what i thought

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 2:59 pm
    Now its about how much he touches the ball since your him playing behind someone hypothesis didn’t pan out. Well oj mayo is on rudy gays team taking more shots then Tracy McGrady tavoris…..what do you have to say to that?

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 3:01 pm
    Mayo has only been in the League one year. geez. why are you so hell-bent on debunking any and everything i EVER say, nbk? are you in love with me or something?

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 3:03 pm
    whether someone is the 3rd option as a starter or reserve is irrelevant.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 3:07 pm
    i debunk what you say because they are half thought out ideas. Dominique Wilkins could average close to 40 in todays NBA…… Rudy Gay is better off on a losing team shooting 20 shots a night, then he would be shooting 10 on a team winning playoff series’. Its rediculous garbage

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 3:10 pm
    Do you really think the Rockets will be better than the Grizzlies this year?

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 3:16 pm
    this year, probably. They will be close but that has nothing to do with our conversation. Considering if Gay never got traded it would have been 3 years ago. Hasheem Thabeet does not improve Memphis’ summer league team

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 3:17 pm
    nbk…I’m done…keep chatting with yourself. slamonline is a place to read about basketball and DISCUSS. I have no desire 2 banter with someone who’s obviously not mature enough to simply discuss.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 3:18 pm
    i didn’t banter anything, i actually answered your question and spoke the truth. what do you feel that question had to do with our conversation?

  • West H-town Posted: Sep.4 at 3:37 pm
    @ tavoris….yes, don’t count the Rockets out.

  • BETCATS Posted: Sep.4 at 3:42 pm
    Godfather Stern ftw.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 3:52 pm
    nbk, do you even know what banter means? and for the record, I didn’t ask you a question. you decided that (as always) your limited opinion of the NBA trumps all. It’s an ignorant position, and pointless to even entertain. West H-town, if (and this is a big if) T-Mac and/or Yao come back before Feb…however, microfracture surgeries usually take two full years to recover from fully.

  • Pardeep Posted: Sep.4 at 4:16 pm
    Rudy Gay is going to be a beast but his jersey isn’t going to sell and I don’t know if anybody noticed but this sounds exteremely wrong.->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Gay – No, I’m talking about the number of balls that are used in a game. I humbly ask that you consider having two balls in play at the same time during our games next year, Mr. Godfather sir.

  • Klav Posted: Sep.4 at 4:53 pm
    @Pardeep
    straight up, thats a pause. LOL

  • Bryan Posted: Sep.4 at 5:01 pm
    Nbk doesn’t know sh*t.

  • nbk Posted: Sep.4 at 5:24 pm
    Disregard that guys…I know nothing of basketball. I am an idiot. Sorry for wasting your time.

  • ciolkstar Posted: Sep.4 at 5:28 pm
    Granger’s gotta be top 20. Right?
    Gay is more athletic than Danny Boy, but I’m not sure if he’s got the right makeup, in terms of effort and intensity, to get to Granger’s level. Although, Granger does get a lot more looks in Indy than Rudy’s been getting in Memphis… Gay definitely has top 20 upside.

  • davidR Posted: Sep.4 at 6:48 pm
    nbk, you realize a 38 year old michael jordan was able to average ~21ppg in 02 right? i’m pretty sure a prime nique would be very close to averaging 40ppg in todays game.

  • davidR Posted: Sep.4 at 6:50 pm
    ciolk, with indiana’s offense and granger’s output, i’m sure he’ll be in the top 20. if not, at least in the low 20s

  • davidR Posted: Sep.4 at 6:53 pm
    of course, nique would have to be on a whack team that likes to run

  • davidR Posted: Sep.4 at 6:54 pm
    i’m curious to see where monta will land on this list

  • Moose Posted: Sep.4 at 8:16 pm
    davidR: Don’t get your hopes up. I don’t see Ellis past 35.

  • Furious Posted: Sep.4 at 8:17 pm
    tavoris is a douche.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 8:23 pm
    The comments section is a place to further discuss the topics in this post. Commenters who seek to accomplish any of the following may be banned:
    - Personally attack other commenters.
    - Make derogatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation or religion.
    - Troll, or comment with the intention of creating problems. Trolling includes, but isn’t limited to, baiting people to flame at you, encouraging people to leave the site, spamming and using alternate IDs.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 8:24 pm
    furious..that was for you.

  • Anton Posted: Sep.4 at 8:30 pm
    CJ: “Gay over Jameer Nelson?” How do you know Jameer is a bottom? Just cause he’s short don’t mean he take it.

  • Furious Posted: Sep.4 at 8:34 pm
    But the real question is: by posting that are you baiting me to “flame at you”? in which case it would be for you also.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 8:38 pm
    nah furious…not even gettn into that. If my refusal to co-flame with nbk makes me a douche, then so be it. For the record, I think Gay should be ranked somewhere around where Granger is…he’s really that good. I just don’t see how anyone can think that he would be JUST AS GOOD now if Houston kept him. I guess the fact that TMac’s progression as a player rapidly accelerated once he got from under Carter’s shadow doesn’t look like a VERY similar situation.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 8:40 pm
    Anton…whoa

  • Furious Posted: Sep.4 at 8:45 pm
    i reckon you should probably copy those rules to Anton as well tavoris. That could be the worst post i’ve ever seen.

  • tavoris Posted: Sep.4 at 8:50 pm
    that did come out of left field. Anton is obviously one of our more “progressive” posters…

  • Darksaber Posted: Sep.4 at 9:31 pm
    Leave Anton alone, people. He can’t help it, he just loves those provocative one liners. Don’t worry, he knows Ryne is keeping an eye on his comments, just in case. :-)

  • Darksaber Posted: Sep.4 at 9:33 pm
    I prefer Darth Stern to Don Davide personally. (Nerdjuice!!!!)

  • Blinguo Posted: Sep.4 at 10:36 pm
    Did James the Balla mean Anthony Randolph?
    Perhaps Monta makes the list soon enough, not high davidR, as SLAM’s throwing a bone to GSW fans. Randolph is just as key – as Monta to anything the Warriors are doing next season(especially if Jax is out), but Monta has more regular fan and youtube highlight appeal.
    -
    ^LeoneL – Do this for line breaks considering sometimes the old Shift+ENTER does not work here, most infamously in like the nick naming contests.

  • James the Balla Posted: Sep.5 at 6:01 am
    No, Morrow.

  • the big H Posted: Sep.5 at 7:41 am
    he is not better then Iverson or Mayo how in the hell r you rating the list an win the list get`s 2 the end lebron beter be #####1 kobe can be 2 or 3

  • davidR Posted: Sep.5 at 11:15 pm
    test
    -
    test

  • tealish Posted: Sep.6 at 2:33 am
    Haha, it’s getting to the point where I read something on SLAMonline and can foresee an Anton.

  • tealish Posted: Sep.6 at 2:36 am
    Thoughts re. the ranking:
    - should be too low. I saw him in the early 30′s.
    - could be accurate if this ranking assumes AI goes to Memphis where the shots become even less to go around and is based on pure production in 09/10.

  • Blinguo Posted: Sep.6 at 3:10 am
    Morrow is a supreme shooter James, he doesn’t set up the offense. He finds and creates his own. However in the Nellie offense(or anyone’s really) you need to do something to set someone else up. He won’t be any more important than Monta or Randolph, but just as important (doing his role). And of those three, I say Monta gets on, if any Warriors even get on this list.
    -
    But if you have some thoughts on why he should, let ‘em out son!

  • Blinguo Posted: Sep.6 at 3:13 am
    Randolph though, if you forgot or misplaced the person with the name, is the one with tremendous upside. The lanky swingman who can run down a defensive rebound all the way down to the other end and finish himself. Among dunking on Yao and screaming at him last year (he did get a T), and people around here tend to like – as long as he doesn’t get corrupted under Nellie’s crazy guidance. He was in the quick one pagers in the Kobe Finals – How ya like me now issue, “Speed Racer”.

  • Hursty Posted: Sep.6 at 5:32 am
    There are a bunch of guys who’ve turned out fine as 1st or 2nd options on good squads after playing as the 3rd or 4th option. If you’re good, you’ll get minutes (usually).

  • al Posted: Sep.6 at 1:38 pm
    have you really watched the guy playing? I know it is tough to play for Memphis but he has the worst decission making in the whole league, no kidding. Besides that, he has all the potential, I agree

  • Quail Posted: Sep.7 at 12:36 am
    Jodie Meeks #1!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Kent Kanada Posted: Sep.8 at 6:12 pm
    iverson is the galactic plug to zebo’s black hole. but with a good offense…and defense. basically this all depends on work from the coach to have a good thought out and well-suited strategy for the team. but i think Iverson Mayo Gay Randolph Gasol lineup could definitely work if Randolph and Iverson became strong role players. I’d call them above average role players. But the players i dont know about sooo….so the grizzlies universe is just not possible. Canada knew it.

Comments




The comments section is a place to further discuss the topics in this post. Commenters who seek to accomplish any of the following may be banned: - Personally attack other commenters. - Make derogatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation or religion. - Troll, or comment with the intention of creating problems. Trolling includes, but isn't limited to, baiting people to flame at you, encouraging people to leave the site, spamming and using alternate IDs.