Report: Suns, Grizzlies in Rudy Gay trade talks

Remember how we thought it might be a challenge for Memphis to move Rudy Gay because he makes $16.5 million this season and is owed $37.2 million for two years beyond this one? Maybe we should just forget that and remember that any contract can be moved.

The Grizzlies are in trade talks with the Phoenix Suns to move Gay, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and the NBC Sports Network.

There’s no framework of a possible deal in place, but the Grizzlies have expressed a strong desire that any package involving Gay include Suns forward Jared Dudley and future first-round draft picks, sources said.

Dudley is a nice player and picks help a rebuilding team, but you would think Memphis could get much more for a borderline All-Star player like Gay, a guy giving Memphis 17.8 points (but at just 40.8 percent shooting) and 5.8 rebounds a game. What Dudley gives Memphis is needed outside shooting.

As Wojnarowski notes, one big hurdle to this deal is getting Suns owner Robert Sarver to agree to take on that contract.

We noted there were talks before, but clearly Memphis is shopping Gay pretty hard around the league. That indicates a couple of things.

First, the new ownership and management clearly do not think the Grizzlies as constructed can contend for the Western Conference title. Memphis is 22-10 on the season with one of the best defenses in the league, a team that kind of feels a piece away from challenging Oklahoma City and the Clippers atop the West. Dudley is not that piece.

Also, it is clear the Grizzlies do not want to pay the luxury tax this year. They are currently a little more than $4 million over the tax line.

It may not be Phoenix’s purple (or better yet, throwback blacks), but Gay is going to be in another uniform by the trade deadline.