The Rockets have been among the teams linked to Gay over the last few months, so if Sacramento gets serious about moving the UConn product, Houston could be a team to watch. However, that seems like a long shot, given Gay’s lack of faith in team ownership’s ability to create a winning environment. According to Wojnarowski, owner Vivek Ranadive is also reluctant to part with Gay, viewing him as a key piece of this year’s roster - Ranadive has reportedly told associates that he thinks he can persuade the 30-year-old to remain with the Kings beyond 2017. With the Kings intending to compete for a playoff spot this year, trading Gay for future picks or assets is not ideal, since they’d offer no short-term value. While some clubs are unclear about exactly what the Kings are looking for in a deal, others have balked at Sacramento’s asking price, per Wojnarowski. According to the Yahoo! Sports scribe, Sacramento has talked to several teams about Gay, but those discussions haven’t found any traction. Nonetheless, the Kings have thus far not shown any inclination to trade Gay without a “substantial package” in return, league sources tell Wojnarowski. “At this point in my career, I think I want some kind of consistency and we don’t have that here, at all,” Gay said at the time. The comments he made during a July interview with Sactown Royalty didn’t sound like they came from a player who was committed to his team for the long term. Of course, the fact that Gay is strongly leaning toward departing Sacramento next year doesn’t come as a real surprise. As Wojnarowski observes, Gay’s declaration that he expects to leave the Kings in 2017 may make the franchise more motivated to trade him.
That was never the plan.Rudy Gay and his camp have informed the Kings that the veteran forward plans to decline his player option for 2017/18 next summer, and is unlikely to re-sign in Sacramento, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The rumors about him are not going to stop, but there is a clear evaluation system for those now - the Kings’ aren’t just going to take on junk to dump him. 19, the day after the trade deadline, Gay is probably still pulling on a purple jersey for Sacramento.
The Kings are in a fight for the last playoff spot in the West with Utah and Portland and the owner wants to make the postseason after a nine-year drought - they are not going to make trades that have them stepping backwards.Ĭome Feb. So you can stop trying to dreaming up packages, Celtics fans.) (And no, Cousins is not available via trade - owner Vivek Ranadive still loves him, and you don’t trade your most popular, biggest draw player the season before you move into a new arena. That should be the case for everyone on the Kings’ roster not nicknamed Boogie. If you can get younger and keep the talent level high, then you seriously consider a deal, if not you move along.
That’s not shopping a guy, that’s being a prudent GM. They don’t want to move him just for the sake of it. Sacramento, for example, rejected New Orleans’ recent offer of Eric Gordon and Alonzo Gee for Gay before Gordon suffered a fractured finger that will keep him out until after the deadline. (Gay, 29, is scheduled to earn $13.3 million from the Kings next season before he’s forced to decide on a $14.3 million player option in 2017-18)…. Or a player they like with at least one year left on his contract after this season, which would give the Kings some insulation against trading for someone in February who turns around and leaves town in July. Sacramento is said to be seeking a quality young player in return if it parts with Gay. Gay trade rumors have swirled around Gay for a while, and Marc Stein of ESPN confirms those, but says it’s not that simple. The Sacramento Kings are DeMarcus Cousin’s team, and the question for GM Vlade Divac becomes who are the best players to put around him to thrive? (Well, that and what’s the best system, and is George Karl the guy to execute that vision).