So, it’s been almost two months since the Toronto Raptors shook up their roster by shipping their then-superstar Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. What has changed? Almost everything, for both teams involved.
It’s unusual in today’s NBA to see a superstar move from one team to another in a deal the clearly benefited both squads on the floor immediately. Most figured the Raptors were in tank mode when they made the deal, opening the possibility of a high pick in the NBA Entry Draft. Raptors junkies had visions of Andrew Wiggins in their heads then.
Now, the Raps look poised to get into the playoffs. At the time of the deal Toronto owned a .368 winning percentage. Now Toronto sits atop the Atlantic Division at 26-22, four games ahead of Boston. The trade was a case of addition by subtraction – lose a shot-happy offensive talent and give those shots and minutes to players like DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Terrance Ross. Presto, you have a winning team.
The moving parts outside of Gay in the deal – Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Kings for Patrick Patterson, John Salmons, Greivis Vasquez and Chuck Hayes – can’t be ignored either. The four new Raps have solidified Toronto’s bench while the move freed up a pile of cap space.
When Gay was the big star in town, the ball moved fine until it hit his hands and then went no further. Toronto is averaging 23 assists per game since the deal, up from about five helpers per night when Gay was a Raptor. Back then the Raptors were pushed around and didn’t have any toughness in the paint or away from the ball. That has changed in a big way as Toronto crawled back up the standings. More than anything, the culture has changed since Rudy Gay left. That might end up being the most important part of the deal down the road.
“You could say we are closer,” Amir Johnson told reporters. “There’s not a bad bone on this team. Everybody gets along. We just kind of click. You don’t usually find that. Usually everyone has their own (agenda) but we don’t have that on this team. It’s pretty cool.”
On the other side of the deal, there’s no denying Gay has played much better with the Kings. He’s averaging 20.7 points in 25 games with the Kings on fewer shots than he was taking with the Raptors. Acy is getting some minutes on the floor. Sacramento looks like its building some chemistry as well.
But the Kings are still in last place in the Western Conference after sitting 14th before the deal. In a league where wins and money are all its about, Sacramento lost both ends of that one-and-one.
Even if Toronto slips in the second half of the season, the Raps still have room on the cap and have developed a brand new winning culture within the lockerroom and on the court.
That in itself is worth a handful of Rudy Gays.
Toronto is set as a 1.5-point favorite at Sacramento tonight.
