After 11 seasons in the NBA, Rudy Gay knows a thing or two about how the league works. He has only been with the San Antonio Spurs for one season, but already, he says, he's learned there's a difference between the Spurs and the rest of the league. From Gay's perspective, the team's recent trade of Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors perfectly illustrated this difference.
Gay says the Spurs were up front with Leonard throughout the trade process, but the Raptors weren't "being up front with [DeMar DeRozan] at all." The vet says the Spurs, unlike most of the league, "do right by you."
"The best part about San Antonio, they do right by you," Gay said, per the Hartford Courant. "They do right by their players, do right by their staff. That doesn't happen much in the NBA, to be honest with you. It doesn't happen much. On one side, there was [Leonard] that was trying to get out, get to a bigger market, and they were totally being up front with him, and then they trade him for a guy [DeRozan] where, that organization wasn't being up front with him at all. So, I mean, it's just night and day. That trade right there shows you the difference between the San Antonio Spurs and other organizations."
Gay, who will turn 32 later this month, averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game with San Antonio last season. Interestingly, he has some history with the Raptors. He played for the team in 2012 and '13.
Gay recently played with DeRozan at the Drew League, so clearly they had an opportunity to talk about the trade.
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