NBA Trade Rumors: Grizzlies Would Be Crazy to Swap Rudy Gay for Monta Ellis

With NBA free agency set to open in the coming days, there has been plenty of speculation with regard to roster moves, including trades. One hot rumor that is making the rounds is a swap of forward Rudy Gay and guard Monta Ellis between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors.

The speculation was fueled by comments by ESPN's Ric Bucher on SportsCenter and an ensuing tweet on his Twitter page. While both Gay and Ellis have qualities that could make them great NBA players, the Grizzlies would be getting the raw end of this deal as Gay is the more complete player.

Gay was injured down the stretch last season and was unable to play in the playoffs when Memphis pulled a colossal upset by ousting the San Antonio Spurs.

While some may view that as the Grizzlies not needing Gay, I view it more as Gay possibly being the piece that can put them into contention.

Financially, the move would benefit the Grizzlies as Gay is locked up through the 2014-15 season where his salary will escalate to $19 million, while Ellis will pull in $11 million per season through 2013-14. With that in mind, trading for Ellis could give the Grizzlies some added cap flexibility.

Even so, it is a move that would weaken a team that was among the NBA's "elite eight" teams last season, so there wouldn't be much reasoning behind it.

Ellis can be an incredibly potent offensive weapon, especially when he has the hot hand, but he isn't a good fit in Memphis.

Ellis is an undersized combo guard who needs to play in high-tempo offenses in order to be his best. That includes teams like the Warriors and New York Knicks, but the Grizzlies like to run conventional half-court sets.

From Golden State's perspective, the trade would be great. Gay has suffered some injuries over the course of his career, but so has Ellis, so it would be a wash in that respect. Gay has the rare ability to score inside and out, and he can also defend, making him far more valuable than Ellis.

The fact that the Warriors have been rumored to want to trade Ellis for so long should throw up some red flags in the first place. They obviously want to change things up and develop more of a dual-threat offense rather than the run-and-gun that is currently employed.

In the right situation Ellis can put up some monster numbers and perhaps out-produce Gay. Memphis most certainly wouldn't be that type of locale, though, due to the emphasis on making every possession count and playing tough, tenacious defense.

I'm sure that there is suitor for Ellis somewhere out there, but unless the Grizzlies are desperately looking to make some big changes to their roster and playing style, it won't be them.

Memphis is on the brink of something good, so there is no reason to ruin it by downgrading in terms of talent.