Global Hoops Roundup: Grizzlies Trade Rudy Gay, LeBron Rips Reggie Evans after Heat Win

Grizzlies Trade Rudy Gay to Raptors-In a effort to avoid future luxury taxes, the Memphis Grizzlies dealt their leading scorer and one of their highest paid players, Rudy Gay, to the Toronto Raptors for guard Jose Calderon and forward Ed Davis. Calderon was then traded to the Detroit Pistons for Austin Daye and Tayshaun Prince to complete a three-team deal. The Grizzlies lost their first game without Gay, but hope to stay in the Western Conference playoff race with other players stepping up (NBA.com).

Brittney Griner Sets Conference Scoring Record-Baylor star center Brittney Griner wowed a Lubbock crowd of nearly 13,000 as she set the women’s career scoring record in a 90-60 win over Texas Tech., topping it off with a 40-point performance that even included a dunk. The record is now 2,873 points and Baylor has won 18 games in a row (Hoops Feed).

Cavs and Heat Take Interest in Greg Oden- Former first-round draft pick Greg Oden is sitting out this season, but he may return next year, as two teams have recently expressed interest in signing him. The Miami Heat may want Oden, who could meet with Pat Riley as early as next week, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have also emerged as a top contender in landing the injury-ridden former Portland Trail Blazer. We’ll have to wait and see which team he chooses, but it looks like Oden’s career is not over after all (L.A. Times).

LeBron James Rips Reggie Evans After Heat Win-Earlier this week Reggie Evans made the mistake of dismissing the Miami Heat’s 2012 title, saying it meant nothing because “it was a lockout season” just days before the Nets and Heat squared off. And when LeBron James and the Heat stomped the Nets on Wednesday 105-85, he couldn’t help but strike back at Evans for the comments. ”You can’t just come out and say something like that versus a champion,” James said. “No one knows what it takes unless you’ve done it. You can’t sit here and judge and talk about a team winning a championship unless you’ve done it. (Evans) hasn’t done it,” (ESPN).

Popovich Named Western Conference All-Star Coach-San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich will coach the Western Conference squad in this year’s All-Star game. He was selected on Wednesday due to the Spurs having the conference’s best record as of Monday (CBS Sports).