Prior to the start of this year's free agency bonanza, most experts around the league reasoned that Rudy Gay would leave Memphis as the franchise would not be able to resign him due to their limited financial resources. Thus, they reasoned, Gay would provide an excellent fallback option for those who miss out on LeBron James and are still looking for an impact player at the small forward position.

However, things evidently turned out differently as Rudy Gay agreed on a contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies that will pay him no less than $81.6 million over the next five years. In 2009-10, the 6-8 forward averaged 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 40 minutes per game. Even though he is still not a true floor leader the Grizzlies are confident that he will live up to said role as his career goes on. After all, he is still only 23 years old and could very well turn out to be worth the money if he continues to improve at his current pace.

More troublesome than his services on the court are the financial implications for the franchise from Tennessee. More specifically, the Grizzlies are said to consider trading starting center Zach Randolph in order to compensate for the money committed to Rudy Gay. Considering that Zach Randolph led Memphis to their first winning season in recent years and also earned an appearance in the 2010 All-Star game it appears to be questionable whether moving Randolph might be a good idea. Last season, Zach Randolph put up 20.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.

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