By Nick Jones | @Kernel_Nick

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Former UK star Tayshaun Prince is now a former Detroit Piston.

Prince has been dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a thre- team deal in what has been the most popular trade to take place in the 2012-13 NBA season.

The third team involved in the deal is the Toronto Raptors, who will be receiving small forward Rudy Gay.

Gay, who has been with the Grizzlies since breaking into the league in 2006, is on a high-salary contract that the Grizzlies could no longer afford.

The details in the multiple-team trade make sense for all three parties involved. The Grizzlies land Prince and young forward Austin Daye, Raptors big man Ed Davis and a future second-round pick.

The Pistons have Jose Calderon, whose contract will be up at season’s end, from the Raptors. And the Raptors earn the franchise player in Gay that they have been missing since the departure of Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat.

Prince, the last man standing from the 2004 roster that brought an NBA title back to the Motor City, has found his name in trade rumors for quite some time. The 11-year veteran signed a four-year deal just after the lockout ended last season.

With the trade, the Pistons will no longer owe Prince the final two years of that contract. This will put the struggling franchise roughly $35 million under the cap this summer, allowing them add a top-tier player to their abundance of young talent.

With Jose Calderon joining the lineup in Detroit, it likely means Brandon Knight, who has started in all 46 games this season, will play more of a reserve role.

Calderon is averaging 11 points and finds himself in the top 10 in the league in assists at 7.4 per game.