Owen:

Yeah, maybe Melo should try it…..

Really

I hate narrative fitting more than most. I just find this particular narrative irresistible, considering what an incredible about face it is by the ultimate ball hog to suddenly become a premier passer. And how it plays into my predilections about volume scoring and sharing the ball.

Are they winning because of his passing? Is it just a coincidence? I don’t think so. Having watched two of the games, albeit against mediocre competition, they look a lot more dangerous when he is sharing the ball…..

And for the record, Jowles is a social scientist I believe. And I don’t recall ever saying that sharing a ball on a basketball court is anything but a good thing. You know where i am going with this right?

Yeah, maybe Melo should try it…..

mokers:
I will defend THCJ and agree about the sample size. That analysis just screams that somebody is trying to fit things into a narrative. We really need to compare it to other players with similar usage to even begin to make assumptions about the data. Still interesting though.

Gay to Toronto has to be only the first step, right? Or are they just trying to get under the cap for next year?

Kobes passing is unprecendented and team assists have skyrocketed ( he’s not simply hogging the assists) .

Even wins produced incorporates assists into their model.

ruruland: See, I think Prince is a couple notches below Gay. Maybe he gets reinvigorated going to a contenderlike weve seen with so many older

Depends how much stock you put into how Gay has played this year I think. He has pretty quietly been absolutely brutal on the offensive end. I assume if you think he’s significantly better than Prince going forward it’s because you think he can get back to where he has been, not because of what he has shown this year.

For me, it’s pretty close on defense. Gay is a bit better because he’s strong enough to handle some bigger guys that Tayshaun struggles with. On offense Tayshaun is the more natural role player. Better passer, better mover off the ball, similar as spot up shooters. Gay has the ability to create his own shot more, but again, he hasn’t been making ANY of those shots this year.

johnlocke:
Ibelieve in the statement that the team that gives away the best player loses 9 times out of 10. Gay is clearly the best player in this trade – assuming they’re getting something else in addition to Prince, but if it’s just about saving money, I guess it sucks to be a small/medium market team. This is NOT good for the Grizzlies.

Yeah, there’s also a decent chance Gay has a great second half and or playoff run. Seems like Memphis would be trading extremely low right now.

Gay to Toronto has to be only the first step, right? Or are they just trying to get under the cap for next year?

ruruland: See, I think Prince is a couple notches below Gay. Maybe he gets reinvigorated going to a contenderlike weve seen with so many older

ruruland: I actually think, depending on the sf, the Grizz could improve in this deal. It should tighten their identity as an inside out team. Gay never really seemed to complement those bigs.

That said, Prince or Maggette won’t cut it.

thenamestsam: Not sure I agree with that analysis of this trade the more I think about it. In the short run did Memphis get a little worse? Maybe, but only a little I think. Prince really is almost as good as Gay. A little worse for this specific team because they still really need some creativity on the perimeter, but still almost as good. In the long run, I think this deal helps them out even if you’re looking at it outside of a money perspective. Davis is really good and very under appreciated, plus he’s only 23. Longer term he allows them to keep playing the same sort of style if they want to trade Z-Bo to strengthen the perimeter. Getting the big $ savings is just icing on the cake.

See, I think Prince is a couple notches below Gay. Maybe he gets reinvigorated going to a contender like weve seen with so many older