Rudy Gay Trade Rumors: Toronto Raptors Out of Running Because of Steep Price

It is expected that when the NBA trade deadline passes that Memphis Grizzlies star forward Rudy Gay will stay be a member of the team’s roster. Memphis would only be willing to trade Gay if they get a great package in return and it seems that their steep price tag is starting to remove some teams from contention.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star passes along this report that the Toronto Raptors have removed themselves for the potential Gay sweepstakes because of the exact reason we just discussed — the price:

"According to a highly-placed source, any chance of the Raptors picking up Rudy Gay in a trade are diminishing rapidly and it’s less and less likely something will happen.The reason? The asking price is far too high.As I mentioned last week, the players most coveted include the likes of Jose Calderon, Terrence Ross and one of the young bigs – and I know Valanciunas’s name has come up in conversation – and I would suggest Bryan should have no interest in that kind of chatter."

It is understandable for the Grizzlies to want a lot in return for a player of Gay’s caliber. They are currently in the mix at the top of the Western Conference and they could risk taking a few steps back if they part ways with their forward.

It is possible that a team will get more desperate before the trade deadline and give the Grizzlies anything they ask for, but as it stands now, Gay is increasingly unlikely to be changing teams before this year’s trade deadline.