The Portland Trail Blazers blew out the Utah Jazz on Friday.The injury to Quincy Pondexter puts the Memphis Grizzlies in danger of falling out of the playoff picture.A leg injury is robbing us of JaVale McGee’s return to Washington, but the speedy point-guard matchup of John Wall and Ty Lawson should make tonight’s Wizards-Nuggets game fun.The Clippers have been decimated by injuries in recent weeks, but the Sixers are missing rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams and have started to play like the basement-dweller everyone thought they’d be.That won’t help them defend the Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the perimeter. The Bobcats’ defense has been surprising this year, but they just lost Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for at least four weeks.But he isn’t enough of a game-changer to risk the loss of a draft pick, setting them up well for the future. it will be difficult to find a trade partner that can give the Kings the value it wants for. Trading for Gay may have been a stroke of genius: he’s a name, so he’ll create buzz around a franchise that desperately needs it. The Kings have become increasingly open to discussing deals for both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Outside of Cousins and Isaiah Thomas, the roster is still a mess. But that shouldn’t be too much of a concern: Sacramento still doesn’t have the talent to be competitive. If Gay turns the 5-13 Kings’ season around, they could lose their pick in the most loaded draft class in years. Gay is shooting 38.8% from the field this season and taking 18.6 shots a game.īut his recent decline may actually be a benefit for the Kings, as USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick points out: He’s a talented player and is well-regarded around the league, but his performance this season says otherwise. Whether Gay will actually help them win is another story. New owner Vivek Ranadive is clearly trying to accelerate the rebuilding process to bring in a second big-name player next to DeMarcus Cousins. That was all they needed to do, and moving Gay’s contract makes this deal a success.įor the Kings, the motives are more complicated. Point guard Greivis Vasquez is a nice potential piece going forward at point guard, but for the most part, they acquired a bunch of expiring contracts and cleared out some money. What they got back isn’t really important. Gay is making $17.8 million this season and has a player option for $19.3 million next season, making his contract one of the biggest priorities in the Raptors’ fire sale. New GM Masai Ujiri has made everybody on the team available except second-year center Jonas Valanciunas. The veteran forward was traded on Sunday from the Toronto Raptors to the Sacramento Kings in a seven-player deal, a trade that accomplishes the rare feat of making sense for both teams. For the second time in less than 12 months, Rudy Gay has a new home.