NBA Trade Rumors: Swapping Rudy Gay for Andre Iguodala Is Great for Both Teams

A Rudy Gay for Andre Iguodala swap would make both the Grizzlies and the 76ers drastically improved teams.

A trade scenario first brought up by ESPN's Chris Broussard makes all the sense in the world for both teams involved. The 76ers are a team filled with young talent who desperately need to add some size to a roster that could be without their only post threat, Spencer Hawes. The Grizzlies, who are just a piece or two away from becoming real contenders, need someone to shake up their roster.

By swapping Gay and Iguodala, both teams are solving their problems. Firstly, the 76ers have put together a solid core of young players that were able to overachieve this season when they advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The 76ers already have established an identity as a gritty team that plays hard, defends well and isn't too flashy.

Adding Gay will only bolster that identity and give the Sixers a consistent scoring threat that they lacked last season. Gay is a versatile forward who could give a thin frontcourt some help at the 4—especially if Hawes decides to sign elsewhere.

Gay's ability to score inside is something that the Sixers could use as they largely have to depend on their defense to win games. Gay has averaged nearly 20 points per game since his second year and would provide consistency to an otherwise inconsistent core of scorers.

Comparing both Gay and Iguodala head-to-head shows a fairly sizable advantage for Gay:

Iguodala: 12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 5.5 apg, 45.4 FG% 39.4 3PT% 61.7 FT%

Gay: 19 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 45.5 FG% 31.2 3PT% 79.1 FT%

So why would the Grizzlies want to ship off Gay for a seemingly less productive player in Iguodala?

Because it's all about the fit. The Grizzlies are at their best when Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are getting a ton of touches in the paint and taking advantage of the mismatches that occur when you have two terrific post scorers like them. The only issue is that Gay and Randolph just don't have good chemistry.

Gay works well from the post too and requires a lot of touches to get going. His usage rate—per John Hollinger's advanced metrics—is seventh among all NBA small forwards at 23.1. With Gay, Gasol and Randolph all needing touches, the offense simply doesn't run smoothly enough for the Grizzlies to be effective.

By acquiring Iguodala, the Grizzlies get a solid perimeter defender (1.7 spg) who doesn't need the ball to contribute on offense (12.4 ppg with a 17.5 usage rate). Iguodala's improved three-point shooting would also open up more space for the Memphis bigs to operate, stretching the defense and making the Grizzlies a real headache to defend.

The Sixers get a scorer that they can really build around, while the Grizzlies get a much more comfortable fit on the roster that could give them the push they need to make another run at the Western Conference finals—sounds like a win-win for both teams.