Rudy Gay, a rumored trade target of the Indiana Pacers, has reportedly told his bosses that he will be leaving Sacramento as soon as possible.
Rudy Gay appears to be putting pressure on the Sacramento Kings to trade him now or watch him walk away for nothing next summer.
The 6’8″ scorer can opt out of his contract after the coming season, and he has informed the team that he plans to do exactly that, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
"Gay’s pledge to the Kings’ ownership and front office that he’s strongly leaning against re-signing with Sacramento is a declaration that could increase pressure on the organization to trade Gay sooner rather than later.So far, Sacramento has shown no inclination to move Gay without a substantial package in return, league sources told The Vertical. Several teams have engaged the Kings in trade talks, but teams say those conversations have yet to find traction. Some teams have been unclear with what exactly Sacramento wants in return, and others say the asking price is too unreasonable.Nevertheless, Sacramento hasn’t ruled out trading Gay, but the team wants to compete for the playoffs, and team officials believe there are few, if any, deals available that could offer them short-term value on Gay, sources said."
The Indiana Pacers were widely reported to be a leader among the teams interested in trading for Rudy Gay this summer. Rumors swirled about talks between the two teams, but obviously nothing came of any discussions that may have occurred.
According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the Kings had no interest in Monta Ellis despite trying to sign the veteran shooting guard the previous summer when he was free agent. Perhaps this is because Ellis reportedly turned down a larger offer from Sacramento to instead join the Pacers.
No matter the reasons, various reports insinuated that one faction within Sacramento’s decision-making team — probably owner Vivek Ranadivé — remains enthralled with the idea of acquiring Ellis while others are against the move.
It may, in fact, be a new day in Sacramento: I'm quickly corrected on the Monta front, told Kings have no interest. Rodney Stuckey, either.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 2, 2016
If the Kings don’t want Monta Ellis or Rodney Stuckey, it’s hard to see how a deal would work with the Indiana Pacers.
Then again, this information is from a few months ago.
With the prospect of losing Gay for nothing next summer, the Kings may be reconsidering things. Monta Ellis now may be the best thing they could get — if they even still can. Few teams will give up much for a player who is a one-year rental, but if Bird really does think Rudy is a better fit than Monta, he may be willing to make that move and try to re-sign the University of Connecticut product after the season.
A starting lineup of Jeff Teague, Paul George, Rudy Gay, Thaddeus Young, and Myles Turner has to be tempting on some level. Even if Gay is not, in a vacuum, any better than Monta, he certainly would alleviate some of the duplication issues that exist with the current back court duo of Ellis and Teague. He is also a much bigger, if not better, defender.
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We will see.
It is probably still a long shot that Gay will end up on the Indiana Pacers, but the Kings now have to seriously consider moving the wing for the best deal they can get.