Although he admits he "needed a change," Rudy Gay told Yahoo! Sports that he wished the Memphis Grizzlies' new ownership had given him a chance to show he was worth a big-money extension before it traded him to the Toronto Raptors.

"You have to give me a chance to see if I'm worth that," Gay told Yahoo! Sports.

The Grizzlies traded Gay to Toronto in a three-team, six-player trade in late January. New owner Robert Pera, who took over the team on Nov. 5, has deflected criticism of trading Gay, the team's leading scorer at the time of the deal, saying he thinks the Grizzlies are still set up for a deep playoff run.

The Grizzlies haven't missed a beat since trading Gay, posting an 11-4 record since the trade, which brought the team forwards Tayshaun Prince and Ed Davis in return.

Gay told Yahoo! that he understands the new owners "want it their own way" ... "but it's a player's league."

Gay has averaged 19.8 points in his 15 games with the Raptors, although he has struggled with his shooting, which stands at 39 percent with Toronto.

"I needed a new situation. A new task. I needed a new task with something I could grasp, something I could take over. I need to be challenged. I was challenged in Memphis, but it was tug-of-war at times. Here I'm being challenged, and they're seeing what I'm made of," he told Yahoo! Sports.