The man writing checks to pay Rudy Gay’s NBA maximum salary said Friday that he has no plan to sign off on trading the Grizzlies’ promising yet often maligned small forward.

Reports persist that the Griz are shopping Gay to shed payroll and acquire a draft pick in the lottery. But Griz owner Michael Heisley says that just isn’t the case.

“We’re not looking to trade Rudy Gay,” Heisley said. “We’re not shopping him around. Period. Do we sit around and say, ‘What if we traded Rudy, who could we get?’ No. Right now, Rudy is part of the future of this team.”

via Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal