MANILA, Philippines - Papunta na si Rudy Gay sa Toronto sa pinakahu-ling dramatic move ng Memphis Grizzlies na nagme-make-over ng koponan.
Pumayag ang Grizzlies na i-trade ang kanilang star swingman sa Raptors nitong Miyerkules at ito ang paghihiwalay ng leading scorer at ng koponang naghahabol sa Western Conference playoffs.
Ibinigay naman ng Raptors si point guard Jose Calderon at forward Ed Davis sa deal na kinasangkutan din ni Grizzlies backup center Hamed Haddadi at ibinigay din ng Memphis si Calderon sa Detroit kapalit nina Austin Daye at Tayshaun Prince.
“Players like this don’t come along that often in terms of their availability,’’ sabi ni Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo ukol kay Gay. “This was a very unique circumstance. We feel like we took advantage of it.’’
Walang binanggit tungkol sa pera si Memphis ge-neral manager Chris Wallace sa kanilang statement na inilabas nitong Miyerkules ngunit walang dudang malaki ang kinalaman ng pera sa kanilang desisyon.
“We are excited to add three players who bring with them a tremendous amount of value to our team and have achieved incredible success on the pro, college and Olympic levels,’’ sabi ni Wallace sa hiwalay na statement. “In these players, we welcome NBA Champion and Olympic gold medalist Tayshaun Prince, as well as up-and-coming athletic forwards Ed Davis, who won an NCAA title at North Carolina, and Austin Daye.’’