Rudy Gay Trade Rumors: Sacramento Kings Trying To Trade Gay Before Deadline
Rudy Gay trade rumors have surfaced for the Sacramento Kings again. The Kings had a Gay trade in place with the New Orleans Pelicans, but the negotiations stalled out. A report from Sheridan Hoops states that the Kings offered Gay in exchange for Ryan Anderson, but that the Pelicans weren’t ready to make that deal. With the Pelicans falling out of contention for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, the team might decide to pull in the sails for the season.
What these Kings rumors show fans is that the team is now shopping Gay and that he might not be on the roster for much longer. The Kings have underperformed again this season, dropping to 15-23 with a new two-game losing streak. The team is only two games out of the eighth playoff spot in the West, but it doesn’t mean the front office wants to pay all the salaries on the roster.
The Rudy Gay trade rumors might frustrate Sacramento Kings fans who had been hoping this could be a season of turnaround for the franchise. With Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Ben McLemore, and Rajon Rondo as the core starters, the 2015-16 NBA season was supposed to go differently than recent years. Instead, the team has been mired with losses again, forcing the front office to again consider making big moves.
Gay still has another guaranteed year on his contract and a player option for the 2017-18 NBA season. He will earn just over $12.4 million this season, $13.3 million next year, and possibly about $14.3 million the following season. It’s an affordable contract to most teams, especially with the numbers he has been able to put on the stat sheet. In 36 games this season, Gay is averaging 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists a night. Those numbers are actually down for Gay, who had averaged about 20 points a season for the last three years.
A reason that the Kings wanted Anderson is that he is in the final year of his current contract. It would allow the Kings to get further under the salary cap for next season and make a real push in free agency during the 2016 NBA offseason. It is very likely that the New Orleans Pelicans can find a team that will trade for him before the deadline hits, but the Pelicans may not want to take on a salary like the one Gay will earn. Teams that have expressed interest in Gay before include the Chicago Bulls.
With about a month left before the NBA trade deadline, there will be more Rudy Gay trade rumors surfacing soon. That the Sacramento Kings are officially putting him on the market means that teams can now put together proposals. Gay is a flexible small forward who can score about 20 points a night and create his own shots. That could be an asset to a number of teams that are one player away from making a real run in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. It could also come down to a team needing to address any injuries that might come up.
The Kings don’t have to rush a move with Gay, as there is still a lot of time before the February deadline. That will allow time for negotiations with several teams, with the possibility that the Kings could acquire another pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. With the team trailing the eighth seed by just two games in the West, it’s also possible that the Kings could play into contention over the next four weeks. That might cause Rudy Gay trade rumors to get shelved until the 2016 NBA offseason.
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