Reports have come in that Rudy Gay doesn’t have his mind made up about his future with the Sacramento Kings. He has the options of staying with Sacramento for the final year of his contract or trying his luck in free agency this upcoming offseason.
Prior to this season, Rudy Gay told the Kings he planned on opting out of the last year of his current contract to test the free agency waters. His unfortunate season-ending Achilles injury has seemingly altered Gay’s state of mind and he’s now uncertain about staying or leaving.
Before his injury, Gay was averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting just about 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep. With those numbers, Gay could have gotten himself a pretty hefty deal over the summer… until he suffered a ruptured Achilles in wake of playing just 30 games this year.
When speaking to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones, Gay said he was looking for where he could “feel most comfortable” while being able to “showcase [his] talents and win.” If he’s really after winning, then it’s in his best interest to opt out and sign with a potential contender. If he wants to make as much money as possible, though, sticking around for the final year of his contract will afford him the opportunity to earn a big payoff come the summer of 2018.
There apparently have been interest in Gay from the Heat, Rockets, and Thunder when his name was on the trading block. According to Def Pen, the talented forward expressed interest in both Miami and Houston.
Gay’s value has dropped considerably following his latest injury, and he is well aware of that.
He claims that both retired and current NBA players have come to him with kind words as he’s dealt with his latest injury. The players evidentially include future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, as well as Chris Paul and Wesley Matthews.
Luckily he does still have another couple months to make a final decision, but the extra time cannot change other teams’ weariness in giving the injury-plagued forward a large offer this summer should he opt out.
