"Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley sounds as if he believes people should have just heeded his words in the first place.

If they had, there would have been little surprise last week when the Griz struck early in NBA free agency and locked up Rudy Gay with a five-year, $82 million contract.

"We weren't going to lose Rudy," Heisley said. "We made the offer that I always had in the back of my mind. It was a very good offer to Rudy. Like I've said, my plan is to keep this starting five together."

The deal -- verbally agreed upon last Thursday -- will become official today when free agents can sign contracts. A press conference is planned today at FedExForum.

Gay, 23, is projected to start his fifth season earning $13.3 million, the projected maximum he can be paid for his experience. He has a player option for the fifth year of the contract.

The 6-8 forward also carries with him an expectation that he'll become more of an impact player next to Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. He averaged 19.6 points last season, second on the team to Randolph."