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Rudy Gay has said that he plans on opting out of his contract after this upcoming season. He has also said that he doubts he re-signs with the Sacramento Kings. If this happens, the Kings will let their number two options walk without anything in return. Now I know that Vivek Ranadive loves DeMarcus Cousins and Gay, but recent reports have been that he doesn’t like playing with Cousins any more. Cousins is the number one, so he gets his pick on where he plays on the court. Which is usually in the paint, and Gay is at his best slashing to the rim. This has turned Gay into a spot up shooter, which according to recent reports, is why he’s unhappy.
Another reason Gay wants out is he doesn’t like the stability with the organization. What else is new. He, along with almost every Kings player, really loved working with Mike Malone and was very upset when they fired him. Mix in the fact that he’s not fond of being just a spot up shooter and all of these internal issues, and this is why the Kings find themselves in yet another hole.
The Kings have a few options. The most obvious option is trading Gay and try to get something in return. The problem with that is that every team with interest in Gay now know that he will be a free agent, so they probably aren’t willing to trade that many assets for a guy they can just sign in a year. So this will drive the price of Gay down. With that said, here are a couple ideas they could do…
One that would make perfect sense is a Clippers and Kings trade of Rivers for Gay. Unfortunately for Clippers fans, Rivers can’t be traded at the moment.
One that does work, and makes perfect sense is a Thunder and Kings trade.
The Thunder just lost Kevin Durant, they need a small forward. The only problem is that Gay reportedly didn’t like being a spot up shooter. That would probably be the role he would have on the Thunder. However, winning can change a player's mind. He would certainly win more games on the Thunder than he will on the Kings.
Another trade that would work would be a Trailblazers and Kings trade
It works, and it would really help the Trailblazers, but there really isn’t any reason for the Kings to do this trade. The only reason they would do this would be just to get something back for Gay.
The Thunder trade would be the best option for the Kings, but they might just end up losing Gay for nothing. It’s going to be hard for them to convince a team to trade for him, and convince them he won’t leave after the season is over.
This is just another example of how Kings management is affecting the players and the team as a whole.
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