Already today, we've heard that the Grizzlies have engaged in trade talks with the Suns involving Rudy Gay, and have spoken to the Warriors as well. According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, however, Gay isn't the only Memphis player who the team has discussed as a trade candidate.
Tillery reports that the new management group is gauging the value of several players on the team's roster, including power forward Zach Randolph. According to Tillery, the Kings are one club that the Grizzlies engaged in preliminary talks, though it's not entirely clear if Randolph, Gay, or someone else was discussed in those conversations. Most of the team's talks have been cursory in nature, so there's no framework for any deals, and nothing is imminent.
Still, Tillery echoes what we've heard from other reports, suggesting that the Grizzlies have been actively exploring potential trades to avoid becoming a perennial taxpayer. Randolph, like Gay, still has two years remaining on his contract after 2012/13, at an annual average salary of over $17MM. Gay appears to be the players most likely to be on the move, according to Tillery, but he didn't sound as if he was bothered by the swirling trade rumors.
"This is every year," Gay said. "If it happens, it happens. So what? I'm playing today as a Grizzly. It's a business. People are going to talk and stuff will happen."