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The atrocity of the Eastern Conference also helped, as their record was still good enough for 9 th in the conference. While the Raptors were struggling, on paper they still had enough talent to make the playoffs. 368 winning percentage was good enough for 22 nd in the NBA and the conversation was starting to turn quickly towards tanking. At the time that Rudy Gay (along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray) was banished to Sacramento the Raptors were floundering with a record of 7-12. What better place to begin than the trade that started it all. Sacramento Trades to Toronto: Chuck “Booty” Hayes, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons, and Greivis Vasquez Toronto Trades to Sacramento: Quincy Acy, Rudy Gay, and Aaron Gray He played just 51 games in a Toronto uniform, with none of them coming in the playoffs, but Gay was a key in creating the Raptors as we know them now.
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What truly is amazing though, is that outside of the core of Lowry and DeRozan, you can track the majority of the Raptors’ success directly to the fateful day of December 9 th, 2013 when Rudy Gay was sent to Sacramento. It wasn’t Gay’s arrival in Toronto that prompted four straight playoff appearances, or the four winningest seasons in franchise history, or the team’s first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals…it was Rudy Gay’s departure that triggered this success. Only the most optimistic of Raptors fans fully believed the Rudy Gay acquisition would help nudge the Raptors into the role of quasi-contender, while others were more cautious in their hope, but I doubt any fan would have expected him to contribute to the team’s trajectory in the way he did. After all, it had been 4.5 years since their last playoff appearance and they were still saddled with Andrea Bargnani.
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While he was far from perfect, Rudy Gay instantly became the most talented Small Forward the Raptors had had in years and looked to be a significant talent upgrade despite being a less than ideal on-court fit with Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.Īt the time though, the Raptors were just searching for an identity, while aiming to find any type of positive relevance in the NBA.
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January 30 th, 2013 was a day of mixed emotions for Toronto Raptors fans, as Bryan Colangelo contributed to a six player (and one draft pick) trade that brought Rudy Gay (and Hamed Haddadi) to Toronto.