Voisin: Rudy Gay Admits He Feels "Lost" on Court

#1
This article is a couple days old but has some interesting quotes from Rudy. Apologies if this has been discussed.

"I feel lost,” Gay admitted. “I feel like I’ve changed my game to be more of a playmaker. I’ve made an effort to do that. At times I get lost out there. But everybody is lost. There is no movement, no offensive movement, no defensive movement. We get very stagnant. That’s a big part of our problem.”

Pause.

“Actually, that is our problem,” he continued, forcefully. “But I can’t give you an answer. As a player, I have to find how to be most productive in any situation.”

“Obviously, when you’re winning, there are sacrifices you have to make, and I don’t think we’re willing to make them right now,” Gay said, thoughtfully, bluntly. “Ball movement is a part of it. Sometimes you give up a good shot for a great shot. You have to trust your teammates on defense, and you have to trust the defensive sets. We started doing that in the beginning, but when things start happening, you’ve got to go back to basics.”
Opinion: Veteran Rudy Gay admits he feels ‘lost’ on the court http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article5976153.html
 
#4
Gay feels betrayed after signing a three-year extension partly because of his connection with the departed coach, angered because the timing of the decision was so irrational, and unsettled because the team is faltering.

need we say more? was malone used as bait to get rudy to resign then pushed off the bridge when they felt they got what they wanted out of him? funny hearing that weasel spout out about how ppl thought rudy wouldn't resign but he did. how much influence was from him?
 
#5
Gay feels betrayed after signing a three-year extension partly because of his connection with the departed coach, angered because the timing of the decision was so irrational, and unsettled because the team is faltering.

need we say more? was malone used as bait to get rudy to resign then pushed off the bridge when they felt they got what they wanted out of him? funny hearing that weasel spout out about how ppl thought rudy wouldn't resign but he did. how much influence was from him?
obvi rudy liked PDA so much he wanted to stay
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#7
Those comments by Gay could have been made when Malone was still coach. I noticed in the last couple of games that Gay has not been in the playmaker role as much, so it may be that Corbin has already modified the game plan to accommodate Gay. IMO, that's a good thing. I agree with Gay. He's not a playmaker. He's a back-to-the-basket player primarily, with other elements to his game like standstill shooter and driver, secondarily. IMO, he's awful at making passes off the dribble (He's ok at making passes while at standstill). It may be that Cousins takes on more of the playmaker role, as well as Collison, and McLemore (with the passage of time). In the last game, Cousins I think had 9 assists. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off or the start of a trend.
 
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#9
"We started doing that in the beginning, but when things start happening, you’ve got to go back to basics."

I think that's what most of our players are feeling with the whole Malone departure.
 
#10
Those comments by Gay could have been made when Malone was still coach. I noticed in the last couple of games that Gay has not been in the playmaker role as much, so it may be that Corbin has already modified the game plan to accommodate Gay. IMO, that's a good thing. I agree with Gay. He's not a playmaker. He's a back-to-the-basket player primarily, with other elements to his game like standstill shooter and driver, secondarily. IMO, he's awful at making passes off the dribble (He's ok at making passes while at standstill). It may be that Cousins takes on more of the playmaker role, as well as Collison, and McLemore (with the passage of time). In the last game, Cousins I think had 9 assists. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off or the start of a trend.
Whoa, hold up.

You spun those comments to fit your own narrative. This is very clearly an indictment of the new offense and coach vs the old one. This isn't rudy saying "I don't want to pass anymore." Please explain how you came to that conclusion. When Rudy is one of three playmakers on the entire team, why would they stop doing that? Why would he ask to stop doing that? And why would any coach in their right mind stop having Rudy create when he was averaging close to 5 assists early on?

He's saying no one is moving, no one trusts each other, no one knows what they are doing. Rudy said "We started doing that in the beginning, but when things start happening, you've got to go back to basics." Translation:With Malone, there was ball movement, trust, then he got fired, and now there isn't any of that. We need to get back to playing team basketball.

Rudy was playing the best ball of his entire career under Malone. He's angry, betrayed, and lost like the rest of the team who can't make sense of what went down. They're not alone. 98% of the fan base is right there with him.
 
#11
Nice to see one of the key players openly confirming what everybody already knew. They certainly don't look like they have much direction as a team.

To be fair though, Rudy was pretty much always lost on the defensive end.
 
#12
This was evident to a junior high kid. That is what was so infuriating about the PDA press conference. He treated us all like idiots and uniformed fans. It didn't take the astute NBA follower to see what is going on.

I actually applaud the players the last 5 games or so, they are trying really hard (sans a few plays here and there). I don't think I could do it. I can't imagine going out there every night busting my ass not knowing who I will be playing for next week or next season.

It's one thing to fire a coach that is failing and not well liked, hire and interim and see where it goes, because it wasn't going to be worse. This is unprecedented. NBA 3.0's tag line should be "A different brand of basketball, a different brand of management, a different brand of Crazy...NBA 3.0!"
 
#13
Thank you Rudy for confirming everything we're seeing on and off the court.

That's now Rudy and DMC (our too best players) being very vocal about the direction (or lack thereof) of the team. Take note Vivke an PDA.
 
#15
Ailene makes the excellent point that it best to accept what has happened and move forward. Staying stuck in the what "coulda been" or what "shoulda been" serves no constructive purpose. It is only a destructive waste of time.

Play ball and have some fun doing it. I am enjoying watching it.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#16
Man just suck it up and bring malone back PLEASE
I have a good guess as to what Mike's response would be if the Kings wanted him back as head coach. As he makes the same amount of money whether working or not, why come back? Making a guess as to what kind oif guy Malone is, I think the answer would be the same whether he got paid more or not.

It is very difficult to post on this forum about basketball related subjects as the answer to all question involves wishful thinking that we could take back the Malone firing. I am also very puzzled that Karl hasn't been hired unless the plan is to waste this year and have him take over next year. If I was a STH, I'd be very angry.
 

CruzDude

Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
#17
Kings need a coach to coach the players in what they do best as a team. 1. Defend 2. Speedy transitions 3. Inside game 4. develop an outside game so that the inside game doesn't always get a triple team degrading what our best player can do. This means better ball handling and far fewer TO's.

Mavs loss in overtime: 20 TO's to lose by 2.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#18
Should be a surprise to no one. Cuz is being used differently. Rudy is being used differently. Ben is being used differently. Two of the three are playing worse since the firing and I'd also say while Cuz's numbers look good, I don't agree with how he's being used.

As far as trust and ball movement, it's actually tougher when the pace picks up and you're instructed to launch the first shot you see, which we're seeing far more of. In a slower, half court system you have an idea which shot or shots you're looking for. You work to get them. You know the ball might come back to you. But when guys are rushing up the court and jacking up the first shot they come across, by nature passing in the half court and trust will plummet.

We've seen it with both Rudy and Cuz. Cuz getting boards and shots going up before he crosses half court, while Rudy is following the play and sees and number of players quickly jacking up a jumper. Also seeing more of Cuz facing up and launching jumpers or attacking off the dribble instead of running misdirection off him in the post, and Rudy's touches are also going down. We're seeing far less of patiently working for the best shot and instead firing up the first shot.

Our system is a mess and it's due to the weasel in our FO along with our owner.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#19
Whoa, hold up.

You spun those comments to fit your own narrative. This is very clearly an indictment of the new offense and coach vs the old one. This isn't rudy saying "I don't want to pass anymore." Please explain how you came to that conclusion. When Rudy is one of three playmakers on the entire team, why would they stop doing that? Why would he ask to stop doing that? And why would any coach in their right mind stop having Rudy create when he was averaging close to 5 assists early on?

He's saying no one is moving, no one trusts each other, no one knows what they are doing. Rudy said "We started doing that in the beginning, but when things start happening, you've got to go back to basics." Translation:With Malone, there was ball movement, trust, then he got fired, and now there isn't any of that. We need to get back to playing team basketball.

Rudy was playing the best ball of his entire career under Malone. He's angry, betrayed, and lost like the rest of the team who can't make sense of what went down. They're not alone. 98% of the fan base is right there with him.
Rudy is a lousy playmaker. He's right. He shouldn't be a playmaker. Good for him for knowing his limitations. Everything wasn't roses under Malone; Rudy's playmaking was more like a weed. His turnovers were horrendous and came at very inopportune moments in games. We don't have to think everything was fantastic under Malone to want him back or think that the decision to fire him was terrible. Remember, there wasn't a great deal of movement under Malone. It was one of my (and others') criticisms of Malone. Gay certainly has not done a lot of movement on offense. Maybe he's talking about himself as well as others.

As for airing his feelings in public, well, whatever. I just hope he's not copping out. In the last game his defense was terrible before he got injured. If you can't even get your freaking hand up on defense, then maybe you should just do a lot of talking, on the bench.
 
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Glenn

Hall of Famer
#20
Rudy is a lousy playmaker. He's right. He shouldn't be a playmaker. Good for him for knowing his limitations. Everything wasn't roses under Malone; Rudy's playmaking was more like a weed. His turnovers were horrendous and came at very inopportune moments in games. We don't have to think everything was fantastic under Malone to want him back or think that the decision to fire him was terrible. Remember, there wasn't a great deal of movement under Malone. It was one of my (and others') criticisms of Malone. Gay certainly has not done a lot of movement on offense. Maybe he's talking about himself as well as others.

As for airing his feelings in public, well, whatever. I just hope he's not copping out. In the last game his defense was terrible before he got injured. If you can't even get your freaking hand up on defense, then maybe you should just do a lot of talking, on the bench.
I hope this thread doesn't turn into an anti-Rudy thread. He is saying what we all knew and I will bet/guess that he consulted Boogie before the interview. I hope so as we don't need a split between those two.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#21
Those comments by Gay could have been made when Malone was still coach. I noticed in the last couple of games that Gay has not been in the playmaker role as much, so it may be that Corbin has already modified the game plan to accommodate Gay. IMO, that's a good thing. I agree with Gay. He's not a playmaker. He's a back-to-the-basket player primarily, with other elements to his game like standstill shooter and driver, secondarily. IMO, he's awful at making passes off the dribble (He's ok at making passes while at standstill). It may be that Cousins takes on more of the playmaker role, as well as Collison, and McLemore (with the passage of time). In the last game, Cousins I think had 9 assists. It will be interesting to see if this is a one-off or the start of a trend.
Not very likely. Voisin's column is dated 1/12/15. I doubt if she would go back and pull in an old quote. Voisin may not be everybody's cup of tea but she's not going to make error like that.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#22
Not very likely. Voisin's column is dated 1/12/15. I doubt if she would go back and pull in an old quote. Voisin may not be everybody's cup of tea but she's not going to make error like that.
I think we have a failure to communicate.:) I mean that Rudy was given a playmaker role under Malone. Therefore, one could easily imagine him saying the same thing while under Malone's regime. In fact, lately, his role has appeared to be less of a playmaker under Corbin, which I applaud.

PS The different meanings of "could" reminds me of someone who once said, "It depends on what the definition of is is.":)
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#23
Not very likely. Voisin's column is dated 1/12/15. I doubt if she would go back and pull in an old quote. Voisin may not be everybody's cup of tea but she's not going to make error like that.
I agree totally. I went back and read the article and there didn't seem to be any comments that could have come from the pre-firing era. I think Voisin was trying to add another bit of evidence to the ongoing aggravation about the direction the team is going.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#24
I think we have a failure to communicate.:) I mean that Rudy was given a playmaker role under Malone. Therefore, one could easily imagine him saying the same thing while under Malone's regime. In fact, lately, his role has appeared to be less of a playmaker under Corbin, which I applaud.

PS The different meanings of "could" reminds me of someone who once said, "It depends on what the definition of is is.":)
So what you were saying rephrased was:
Rudy might have made those same comments during the time Malone was coach.
Right?
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#25
I agree totally. I went back and read the article and there didn't seem to be any comments that could have come from the pre-firing era. I think Voisin was trying to add another bit of evidence to the ongoing aggravation about the direction the team is going.
How so? Did he not playma
So what you were saying rephrased was:


Right?
If you took a time transport back to the Malone era I could easily see him talking about his playmaking role under Malone. I fully acknowledge that these comments did in fact occur after Malone left.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#26
I like the honesty...Rudy was never a guy to hold his feelings back that's for sure. It's obvious the team is lost out there...but at this point all the players can do is keep working at it, it's a process to figure out playing together. It doesn't help that there is no player continuity but still...
 
#27
Rudy is a lousy playmaker. He's right. He shouldn't be a playmaker. Good for him for knowing his limitations. Everything wasn't roses under Malone; Rudy's playmaking was more like a weed. His turnovers were horrendous and came at very inopportune moments in games. We don't have to think everything was fantastic under Malone to want him back or think that the decision to fire him was terrible. Remember, there wasn't a great deal of movement under Malone. It was one of my (and others') criticisms of Malone. Gay certainly has not done a lot of movement on offense. Maybe he's talking about himself as well as others.

As for airing his feelings in public, well, whatever. I just hope he's not copping out. In the last game his defense was terrible before he got injured. If you can't even get your freaking hand up on defense, then maybe you should just do a lot of talking, on the bench.
Huh? I'm just not following you at all here and I don't think I'm alone.

Where did he say he shouldn't be a playmaker? I think thats YOUR opinion and nothing Rudy said indicated he doesn't want to be a playmaker. I understand Malone didn't have the most creative offense but Rudy was excelling as a playmaker prior to Corbin's installation.

I guess that brief period of agreeing with kingster has ended. ;)
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#28
Huh? I'm just not following you at all here and I don't think I'm alone.

Where did he say he shouldn't be a playmaker? I think thats YOUR opinion and nothing Rudy said indicated he doesn't want to be a playmaker. I understand Malone didn't have the most creative offense but Rudy was excelling as a playmaker prior to Corbin's installation.

I guess that brief period of agreeing with kingster has ended. ;)
I believe this is the third person using this thread to take a shot or two at Rudy. Following the thread subject must be a strain for some.
 
#29
I believe this is the third person using this thread to take a shot or two at Rudy. Following the thread subject must be a strain for some.
People baffle me.

It's one heck of a spin move to take those quotes as Rudy declaring he's a bad playmaker.

Actually, I'm not even mad. I'm impressed.
 
#30
Gay feels betrayed after signing a three-year extension partly because of his connection with the departed coach, angered because the timing of the decision was so irrational, and unsettled because the team is faltering.

need we say more? was malone used as bait to get rudy to resign then pushed off the bridge when they felt they got what they wanted out of him? funny hearing that weasel spout out about how ppl thought rudy wouldn't resign but he did. how much influence was from him?
Didn't he sign at a lower pay grade too?