JUNE 12: Gay’s formal player option deadline has come and gone without him picking up that option, so he’s officially on track to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
MAY 8: Kings forward Rudy Gay won’t exercise the player option on the final year of his contract, agent Roger Montgomery confirmed today to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Gay will opt out of the deal, making him an unrestricted free agent this July.
Gay initially informed the Kings back in September that he intended to opt out of his contract in the summer of 2017, and it sounded at the time like the veteran would likely be leaving Sacramento. However, after going down with an Achilles injury in January, Gay was less certain about the decision on his option, which is worth about $14.26MM.
Montgomery tells Spears that Gay is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from that Achilles injury, having been cleared to start lifting weights. Gay is expected to be back on the court in mid-June, per Montgomery, so that’s presumably a key factor in his option decision. If Gay was expecting to still be in the earlier stages of his rehabilitation in July, when free agency begins, he’d likely be less inclined to opt out and take his chances on the open market.
According to both Spears and Sean Cunningham of ABC10 (Twitter link), Gay is willing to talk to the Kings in free agency and hasn’t ruled out staying in Sacramento. The Kings certainly have the cap flexibility to make him a competitive offer, but Gay also wants to play for a winning team, and Sacramento remains very much in rebuilding mode. It’s also worth noting that Gay’s stint with the franchise has been a bit of a bumpy ride, making a change of address more likely.
Gay, who will turn 31 in August, averaged 18.7 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 30 games for the Kings this past season before going down with his Achilles injury. Those averages were a little above his career rates, and his .372 3PT% was his best mark since 2010/11.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Deuces ✌️
Has Chicago Bull written all over him
Charlotte could add Gay to play the four or have MKG play the 4 and Gay play the 3
Charlotte doesn’t have the cap space and where would that leave Batum?
Charlotte ?? LOL !!
Celtics need more scoring. He would be a huge upgrade over Crowder and they have plenty of cap space.
he is not an upgrade over Crowder at all.
Huge upgrade. Rudy can make a jump shot.
Lol…..no Rudy can’t, his shoot pct. is not good and he plays NO d at all. Every team he leaves gets better after he is gone
Any chance of him signing with the Heat?
Thanks what I am thinking
Wow!!! He’s gotta be in good shape and ready to go to turn down that much guaranteed money coming off a torn achilles. Maybe he is just done with Sacramento. But I’m hoping he’s back for real and that he lands in a good situation, would be cool to see him on the Grizzlies one more time
Sign the one year deal with the Clips and get your value back up.
The Clippers might lose their two best players. How would signing with them up his stock? Plus, he isn’t taking under 10M. The Clippers don’t have the funds to back that up.
He could be a replacement in Utah for Gordon Hayward in the likely event that he goes elsewhere
he’s been talking with the pacers for the last 2yrs… he would have already been their if he didn’t hurt himself playing against them this year
Rudy Gay has been inconsistent in his shooting and it shows considering last season he shot 38% from 10-16′ and 33% from 16-3pt line a year after shooting 47% and 41% from those distances.
That and you give up a lot on defense. While I like Rudy Gay, I don’t see him as an improvement over Crowder and only a piece of the puzzle in Boston if he comes at a cheaper deal. Something he won’t do.
Sign for the minimum with GSW and build up your stock for a big pay day next offseason while getting a ring.