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Houston would trade Gay and Stromile Swift to the Memphis Grizzlies for Shane Battier straight after drafting him. But Gay did not get drafted third overall, nor fourth or fifth, and instead he fell to eighth and finally got picked by the Houston Rockets. He was projected high on many mock drafts, with third being the highest I've seen. People had high hopes on Rudy Gay coming out of college. As a result, UCONN won more games than the previous year and made it to the elite eight before losing to George Mason in a close overtime game. His draft value got boosted after averaging 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in his sophomore season. Gay was eligible to enter 2005 NBA draft, but decided that he had more to prove before he got into the big league. In his freshmen season, Gay averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds and brought UCONN to the second round before losing to North Carolina State. Gay got numerous scholarships to different colleges, but decided to attend the University of Connecticut, who were coming off of an NCAA championship.
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This showed, and scouts began to pick up on it. He could shoot a long distance three or drive and throw down a dunk with ease. He was a five star recruit and the fifth ranked basketball player of his class for his athleticism and strength along with the diversity he had of scoring the ball. This time around, I wouldn��t be surprised to see DeRozan’s first points come off a pass from Gay.Rudy Gay played high school basketball at Eastern Technical and Archbishop Spalding, both in Maryland. More than five years ago, Gay’s first points as a Raptor came from a half-court lob from DeRozan. After seeing what Gay was able to accomplish since departing Toronto in his late-20’s, who’s to say that DeRozan can’t do much of the same, especially under a better coach. We saw the USC alum improve and accomplish unmatched feats north of the border under Raptors Head Coaches Jay Triano and Dwane Casey. Over 675 games with the Raptors, DeRozan averaged 20 points a game on nearly 50% shooting a night.
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The Spurs should be able to win more than 50 games in an increasingly competitive Western Conference. Gay now has two reigning All-NBA Second Teamers (DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge) on his side. In Leonard’s absence last season, Gay was able to as a reserve, play a huge role in propelling San Antonio into the seventh seed in the Western Conference (47-35). Had Gay not spent a large portion of his prime in Sacramento, and instead under Popovich, there is a reason to believe he would have a championship ring by now (2013-2014). Despite that, the chances of Leonard re-signing in Toronto are slim, and the likelihood of DeRozan’s success elevating in San Antonio is apparent. Acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green is a far better return on paper than Patterson and Vazquez was four-and-a-half years ago. Nearly five years later, all signs are pointing towards the same narrative playing out with DeRozan. Nearly two years later, after a modest 2017-18 season in which Gay averaged 12 points and five rebounds on 47% shooting in his first year under Gregg Popovich, he will be reunited with DeRozan in San Antonio.Īs I mentioned earlier, the return brought in for Gay is all but forgotten about. Over the two seasons Gay spent in California, he constantly scored at least 18 points a night on over 45% shooting, averaged more than six rebounds, and during the 2014-15 season, averaged four assists.Īn injury-riddled 2016-17 season saw Gay, who was able to string together 19 points a game on a nightly basis, ended up succumbing to a ruptured Achilles that ended his season after 30 games. Over the course of two seasons, Gay played 34 minutes a night and somehow managed to participate in 138/164 of his team's games.
#RUDY GAY INJURY 2016 FULL#
Instead, he decided to shine over his next two full seasons in Sacramento for a failing team that didn’t deserve his talent.