Raptors/Grizzlies/Pistons Trade

Before Toronto's game against Atlanta tonight, the Raptors acquired Rudy Gay from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a three-team trade. So, here is the breakdown:

• Raptors receive:
• Rudy Gay
• Hamed Haddadi
• Grizzlies receive:
• Ed Davis
• Tayshaun Prince
• Austin Daye
• Raptors' 2013 2nd-round pick
• Cash considerations
• Pistons receive:
• Jose Calderon

One of the easiest ways to evaluate a trade is deciding who received the best player of the deal. At this point in time, it seems like the Raptors got the best of the deal.

But did they?

Gay will help the Raptors' line-up immediately. He'll push DeMar DeRozan to the shooting guard position, which adds instant athleticism to starting five. With Calderon gone as well, it looks like it will consist of a Lowry-DeRozan-Gay-Johnson-Gray combination until the team gets healthy. Andrea Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas will likely start again when they resume play.

Gay also helps the Raptors in the fourth quarter, who haven't been able to close out games successfully - just like tonight. I know, I know. DeRozan was fouled. But doesn't that prove the lack of respect the officials in the NBA have for the only Canadian team? Gay has closed out games, especially against the Raptors.

However, the Raptors take a lot of money in the deal. Gay will be paid over $19 million in 2014-15. According to HoopsHype.com, he'll make more than Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, Valanciunas, and Terrence Ross combined (at the time of writing, the site did not have DeRozan's extension included in the cap).

It might not be as bad if they can unload Bargnani, which has been rumoured when he gets back from injury. Toronto has been more successful with "Il Mago", and he is starting to wear out his welcome with the fans. The former #1 overall selection has shown flashes of potential, but is it enough to get a deal done?

Many articles I have read consider this a salary dump for the Grizzlies. They get some nice pieces back for their part in the trade. Ed Davis was starting to come in to his own with more playing time in the depleted Raptors' front court. Davis averaged 33.5 minutes per game in January, putting up 14 points and 8 rebounds a game. He'll be a nice depth addition for the Grizzlies with the chance to develop into a fantastic player.

Calderon heading to the Detroit Pistons as a result of this might pain many fans. The Spanish point guard has played his entire career in Toronto and has done everything asked of him, whether it was coming off the bench of being part of the starting five. Calderon will help the development of Rodney Stuckey and Brandon Knight in Detroit.

In the long run of this trade, I believe the Grizzlies will be the winners of the deal. They have gained some financial stability AND added talent to the roster. The Pistons also come out ahead with experience in the back court. The Raptors appear to be the losers of trade, despite getting the biggest name. The ESPN Trade Machine agrees with me.

The one time the Raptors close something out, they may end up regretting it.

Troubled Present, Bright Future

 

In atypical Sir Alex Ferguson fashion, earlier today Manchester United completed their first signing of the January transfer period. The Red Devils' boss is usually against singing new players in January, and instead prefers to simply lure aging stars out of retirement.

United's newest signing, forward Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace, doesn't necessarily break this mould. The £15 Million signing was contingent on Zaha staying at Palace until the end of the season in order to see out the club's run-in for a promotion spot into the English top flight, and may also see some United players going to Palace on loan as part of the deal. This must've been good enough for Sir Alex, who initially was prepared to wait until next season to sign the youngster who has been on United's radar likely since he ran rampant over the Red Devils in Palace's 2-1 victory over United in last year's Carling Cup (you may remember Darren Ambrose wondergoal that Zaha set up). Since then, Zaha has established himself as one of England's finest young prospects, and the 20 year old has already earned a full international cap under Roy Hodgson's tenure as England gaffer. Unsurprisingly, a host of clubs have shown interest in Zaha recently which may well have forced Sir Alex's hand in snapping up the youngster in fear of missing out on his exciting talent.

Zaha, who can operate either as a striker or winger, will bring another player into the crowded attacking fold at United. So then, Zaha's signing has to beg the question, who makes way? Sir Alex, and all of United's fans - myself included, have to believe the club has found something special in their 2013 reincarnation of the Yorke, Cole, Solskjaer and Sheringham combination at striker. The most likely scenario will see Zaha operate primarily on the wing for United next season, occasionally drifting in-field from wide positions. This means that United will likely part ways with one their wingers in the summer to make way for Zaha. Ashley Young, despite starting the season injured, has come into form in the last few weeks - a stark contrast to United's other primary winger, Antonio Valencia who has seen his form dip considerably in the same period. Young is still a relatively new signing for the club, and despite his lack of form recently, Valencia has a endeared himself to United fans as a consistent and industrious winger. Doubtful these two will be pawned off to make room for Zaha.

The most likely candidate to be sacrificed would the enigmatic Nani. Nani's contract is up at the end of next season, and his dip in form, injury troubles, and transfer speculation have made contract negotiations slow to develop. The Portuguese winger was once hailed as the replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, and a short while after CR's departure, it looked to be the case. More recently, Nani has failed to mature into the player that he was so eager to replace. Nani is a player with humongous talent and skill, and it's frustrating to watch him continue to make poor on-field decisions and perform with such inconsistency. Perhaps a change of scenery would do well for Nani, who tends to suffer from low confidence if he isn't given a good run of games, something he hasn't achieved at United for the last 18 months. I wouldn't be surprised to see Nani jettison the Premier League for a less physically demanding league such as Serie A or La Liga. There would certainly be a host of clubs vying for his services, if he were to explore other options. In the mean time, the future looks good for United who look to add another potential to their already deep array of prospects.

Baseball Hall of Shame

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire what do these gentlemen have in common other then giant foreheads, arms and some of the best stat lines of all time? None of these men are heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013. Why are none of these men in the Hall of Fame?

Steroids.

In any other circumstance, all of these men would be first ballot Hall of Famers. But banned substances like steroids denied these men their chance at glory, at least this year. I don't believe this is right.

Barry Bonds, for example, has averaged a batting average of .298 and 41 home runs over his 22 year career starting in 1986, that is amazing longevity over the course of a career. Sure, if you look at the year he broke the record, he had an amazing year. But if you look at 1990 through 2000 – before he started getting huge – he was averaging around 30 home runs a year. Still an amazing number. Taking HGH (human growth hormone) didn't help his eye in the batter's box get better. He has always had the talent throughout his career.

Mark McGuire wasn't a sure thing Hall of Famer, roids or not. His numbers were above average for his career but nothing earth shattering. However, there are much worse selections in the HOF than McGuire. 12 All Star games, three-time silver slugger, a former home run record holder, and constant threat to hit 40 to 55 home runs any given year.

Sammy Sosa was a sure fire Hall of Famer. He had fantastic number through his career – similar to McGuire’s. He averaged 42 home runs for his career, an OBP of .311, and BA of .273. Sosa and McGuire resparked the game of baseball during their thrilling home run chase in 1998.
Roger Clemens. What can you say about the Rocket? 7 Cy Youngs, a MVP, 11 All Star games. He is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. His mechanics and tenacity were well known. Steroids weren't responsible for helping with that. His fastball wasn't an over-powering speed like Aroldis Chapman, who topped the gun at 106 MPH.

I do not believe HGH or steroids of any form to be that much of an enhancer to natural talent. Sure, it helped filled their bodies out but the talent was always there. During most of these men’s careers, these were not even banned by the MLB. PEDs were illegal in the United States but not by the governing body of the sport they played. So, why punish these men from being in the shrine to the profession they gave everything to? If they are to be punished, let the law hand out judgment. These men have put in their time and have had amazing careers. They should be honoured for their achievements, not punished for a substance they did that was not illegal in their sport.

Forget the Road to Wrestlemania. It's the Road to the Royal Rumble!

Before I start, let's get this out of the way. Some people might not say wrestling is a sport. Who cares? It's called "sports entertainment", right? So, I'm going to talk about it.

Back to the talk.

The ending to this week's Monday Night Raw was fantastic. For those of you who didn't see it, CM Punk dropped another "pipe bomb" about the relation of status in the company to popularity with the fans. The obvious connections were made, like Ryback recently receiving a huge push because he got over with the fans. He attacked the gimmicks assigned to superstars like Daniel Bryan and Brodus Clay.

But it all came to a head when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made his most recent return to WWE programming, 20 days before his title shot at the Royal Rumble. The Rock did his usual routine of "Finally..." and "It doesn't matter..." that pumped up the crowd in Tampa Bay.

The best part of all of this: Punk was able to hang with Rocky on the mic. Some, like myself, believe Punk won the war of the words.

This sets up a fantastic lead up to the Royal Rumble on January 27. Two of the best talkers in the business in a feud together. The tension was demonstrated during the confrontation that closed Raw. The crowd was silent for almost every word that Punk spoke. They were hanging on his every word, much like I was watching it on TV. It didn't feel one-sided like many of the Cena/Rock promos heading into Wrestlemania XXVIII.

The Royal Rumble is always one of my favourite pay-per-views. With this being the only match scheduled so far, I'm already getting excited about this one.

Let me know what you're looking forward to heading into The Rumble.