Sacramento Kings: Rudy Gay’s Communication Breakdown
Between his public dissatisfaction and his name being included in many trade rumors, signs are pointing towards a change for Rudy Gay in the near future.
For the Sacramento Kings, this summer has been about trying to start fresh.
Between the hiring of head coach Dave Joerger, bolstering their front office, revitalizing the team’s brand and the opening of their new arena, the Golden 1 Center, the timing couldn’t have been more right for the Kings to put their own special kind of dysfunction behind them, starting with making the right kind of moves this offseason.
It would be a stretch to say that has been realized based on their moves in free agency, but the Kings have done a fine job of finding players that help in the short-term (i.e. Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes) as well as find players that have been historically great locker room guys like Anthony Tolliver and Garrett Temple.
Whether this year’s draft pans out in a positive way remains to be seen for the Kings, but it could add to their process of becoming a perennial competitor as long as they are able to put their incoming rookies on the right path towards positive development.
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However, the Kings haven’t been totally steadfast in trying to put their old ways behind them. Sure, DeMarcus Cousins‘ draft night tweets and the firestorm it caused shortly after might be the first thing that comes to mind, but a better example of this is the intriguing situation involving small forward Rudy Gay.
Gay’s name has been a part of trade rumors for a good portion of the summer now and it’s ranged from reputable sources from the likes of Marc Stein of ESPN.com to Kings insiders like James Ham of CSNBayArea.com.
That talk, along with numerous other factors, has clearly gotten to Gay and it showed in his interview with Blake Ellington of Sactown Royalty that was published a few weeks ago.
In the interview, Gay laid out his frustrations regarding being a part of the trade rumors, the team’s lack of direction and a general lack of communication between him and the Kings front office. Needless to say, Gay’s damning comments certainly caused a stir, raising speculation over whether his days in Sacramento are numbered.
Since then, Gay’s name has continued to be a part of rumors, with the Houston Rockets (according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) and the Miami Heat (according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) emerging as teams that have a reported interest in him.
Additionally, there’s been a dialogue between Gay and the team, specifically Kings general manager Vlade Divac, that has seemingly calmed the rocky waters a bit as Gay said in an interview with Sean Cunningham of KXTV:
"“I have talked to Vlade,” Gay said from his Nike Skills Academy at Hardwood Palace in Rocklin. “I can’t say since Monday stuff has changed, but I just feel like we have a little bit of time to start changing things.”"
With that being said, it appears that Gay, who could be an unrestricted free agent next summer as he holds a player option for the 2017-18 season, might not belong in Sacramento, at least beyond next season.
While we’ll have to wait and see how Gay’s future with the Kings unfolds, how this affects the Kings, both on and off the court, is a bigger question entirely.
On one hand, Gay is approaching the latter half of his career (Gay will soon turn 30 years old) and being that he could opt out of his contract next summer, the writing is carved deep on the wall that he’s not a part of the Kings’ long-term plans.
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From that standpoint, trying to get anything in return for a player who doesn’t fit the team’s long-term timeline is a necessary option for the Kings to explore.
On the other hand, what does it say about the Kings and their hopes to be competitive that they’re trying to move on from their second-best player?
Until we see proof, it’s probably fair to say the Kings’ vision of being competitive doesn’t align with the NBA collective’s vision of being competitive, but can they get a player who can an equal or better impact in place of Gay?
Gay’s by no means a perfect player and his numbers took a dive last season, but he remains a solid scorer that’s capable of being a secondary playmaker if used properly. That might not mean much to teams around the NBA if you aren’t well-rounded on both ends of the floor, but that still makes him valuable to a team like the Kings that needs a reliable offensive weapon outside of Cousins.
All in all, the situation between Gay and the Kings shouldn’t be viewed as indictment on the team’s plan to build themselves back up from the bottom. They still have to bear the fruit of trying to change their culture by doing what matters most (i.e. winning), and the Kings have done the necessary things to get the process started.
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But the drama between Gay and the Kings is undoubtedly worrisome and if you’re a Kings fan, you have to hope it’s just a blip on the radar.