Woj says Gay will exercise option and re-sign with Kings

[Jerichoholic]

This. I'm glad he picked up the option, but we shouldnt jump the gun and offer Rudy that kind of money. He's a good player and a good fit, but he isnt the star people think he is and he shouldnt get star money. His defense is inconsistent at best, and he doesnt hold his own against other top SFs. Durant owns him. To me he seems like a good regular season guy, but once we hit the playoffs (and that is the goal), I think he is going to lose a lot of fans....Which is why I'd rather have a good two way player like Deng, or a top tier role player like Ariza or....Iggy.

We shall see. Like I said in an earlier post in this thread...I'm cautiously optimistic but wary of overpaying Rudy on a long term deal. 48 mil is probably as high as I would go for him after his last season with us. If he can show that it was no fluke and help lead us to a .500 record or so, then maybe we can talk about going higher.

PDA is in a tough spot for sure. We dont want to let talent like Gay walk, but we dont want to screw up our capspace for the next 4 years on someone who might just be fools gold either.

Exactly right. It's all about value, I would take Ariza over Gay any day as his value is better in my opinion. Ariza can probably be had for $8 million/year or so and he provides some very important roles such as outside shooting and individual defense, things the Kings really need right now. Also for that money you can also sign another player who can contribute. If you're going to pay a player $15 million/year he needs to transcend the team game, his talent is so good that he can take any team to the next level, Gay is not that player.

The fact that in general players don't want to sign here or that there are other players on bad contracts are not good reasons to make these mistakes ourselves. If you do then where does it end? How much is too much? For those who want Gay to stay here I want to ask that question. How much is too much? Or is there no too much? Keep him at any cost? $15 million, $20 million, or even $25 million?

For now though, I will look at the positive, we have a $19 million expiring contract, a serious trade chip. If things don't go well in the first half of next season we will be in great position to make some changes and perhaps I will be wrong and Gay will turn out to be better than I thought, I hope so.

 

[hrdboild]

I think it'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the fans turn on Rudy en masse. It's happened already at both of his previous teams. It's probably a good thing though that we have his 19 million dollar expiring contract to work with as we figure out what the long-term plan is. It means there's still a chance to swap him for another expensive player who's fallen out of favor with his current team or take back undesirable contracts to tease out a cheaper player you really want. We weren't going to have cap room to do anything substantial this summer anyway.

The only thing I'm nervous about is what the front office might be thinking. There's a lot of conflicting reports floating around. If they're under the same prevailing belief that the "big 3" of IT, Gay, and Cousins playing almost .500 ball for a couple months is the start of something big, we should just fast forward three years to Pete D being summarily dismissed and Coach Malone winning coach of the year for some other franchise. I don't know enough about any of our new front office personnel to predict what their next move will be and that scares me. Nothing I can do but wait and see though.

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

I might agree with you, but the front office sure doesn't.

but they started the season with mclemore on the bench... sure, they like him, but i think they know that he needs a couple years before he can start. they got rid of lil buckets, but i think that's just because he's not the player that the team needed. they replaced mt23 with jared cunningham, a pure defender, and that says to me that they know what the team needs at the starting SG spot.

I think it'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the fans turn on Rudy en masse. It's happened already at both of his previous teams. It's probably a good thing though that we have his 19 million dollar expiring contract to work with as we figure out what the long-term plan is. It means there's still a chance to swap him for another expensive player who's fallen out of favor with his current team or take back undesirable contracts to tease out a cheaper player you really want. We weren't going to have cap room to do anything substantial this summer anyway.

The only thing I'm nervous about is what the front office might be thinking. There's a lot of conflicting reports floating around. If they're under the same prevailing belief that the "big 3" of IT, Gay, and Cousins playing almost .500 ball for a couple months is the start of something big, we should just fast forward three years to Pete D being summarily dismissed and Coach Malone winning coach of the year for some other franchise. I don't know enough about any of our new front office personnel to predict what their next move will be and that scares me. Nothing I can do but wait and see though.

it's quite obv. when reggie evans entered the lineup, rudy gay was pushed to the perimeter, and we got to see all those rudy turnovers on drives to the basket. if the FO doesn't replace reggie evans with someone who can shoot, we're going to see more of perimeter rudy gay next year instead of postup rudy gay, and he's going to suck, and the fans will turn on him.

and for the record, IT, gay, and cousins were playing way above .500 ball. mclemore and the bench, on the other hand, were playing far below .500.

 

[Jerichoholic]

I think it'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the fans turn on Rudy en masse. It's happened already at both of his previous teams. It's probably a good thing though that we have his 19 million dollar expiring contract to work with as we figure out what the long-term plan is. It means there's still a chance to swap him for another expensive player who's fallen out of favor with his current team or take back undesirable contracts to tease out a cheaper player you really want. We weren't going to have cap room to do anything substantial this summer anyway.

The only thing I'm nervous about is what the front office might be thinking. There's a lot of conflicting reports floating around. If they're under the same prevailing belief that the "big 3" of IT, Gay, and Cousins playing almost .500 ball for a couple months is the start of something big, we should just fast forward three years to Pete D being summarily dismissed and Coach Malone winning coach of the year for some other franchise. I don't know enough about any of our new front office personnel to predict what their next move will be and that scares me. Nothing I can do but wait and see though.

Talking about value is one thing, but something also as important is fit. The system we run and the players we have in it are key. I don't think a big 3 of Thomas, Gay, and Cousins takes us too far. Now to be fair that is better than not having it in pure wins, but at what cost? Perhaps we are a 25 win team with Thomas and Cousins and then become a 40 win team at best with all three. That's better, but still not a playoff team and the cost will be around $40 million/year. Let's go one step further, what if we actually made the trade with Boston, let's say the #8 pick, McLemore, and Thompson to match salaries, for Rondo, I could see this happening. This looks like a good lineup: Rondo, free agent SG, Gay, Evans, and Cousins. On paper this looks like a really strong and tough lineup, most people would probably do this. Just one question though, when opposing teams decide to clog the lane on defense, how are we going to score any points? This team can't shoot and Rondo can't create without any shooters. A cool looking team, just probably doesn't win. Just saying, fit is important.

 

[Bricklayer]

Talking about value is one thing, but something also as important is fit. The system we run and the players we have in it are key. I don't think a big 3 of Thomas, Gay, and Cousins takes us too far. Now to be fair that is better than not having it in pure wins, but at what cost? Perhaps we are a 25 win team with Thomas and Cousins and then become a 40 win team at best with all three. That's better, but still not a playoff team and the cost will be around $40 million/year. Let's go one step further, what if we actually made the trade with Boston, let's say the #8 pick, McLemore, and Thompson to match salaries, for Rondo, I could see this happening. This looks like a good lineup: Rondo, free agent SG, Gay, Evans, and Cousins. On paper this looks like a really strong and tough lineup, most people would probably do this. Just one question though, when opposing teams decide to clog the lane on defense, how are we going to score any points? This team can't shoot and Rondo can't create without any shooters. A cool looking team, just probably doesn't win. Just saying, fit is important.

We couldn't shoot this past year either, but were still ok on offense. And last time I checked you weren't prohibited from continuing to fill out the roster, with guys like Anthony Morrow, Francisco Garcia, PJ Tucker, Danny Granger, Thabo Sefalosha, Jodie Meeks etc. There are always unemployed spare parts shooting type lying around if you just need roster fodder. One of the few advantages to the horror that was Thornton and Ben last year, is you barely have to do anything to be able to match or exceed what you were getting out of those guys.

 

[Kingster]

The Gay signing is good for the Kings - for next year. They appear to be in a better cap situation this year by signing him, than not. The Gay signing also allows for the tryout to be for one and one-half years, rather than the short stint last season. His value to the team, or not, should be more transparent after another year. It doesn't, in my view, influence the draft. Or at least it shouldn't. You don't want to make an alternative draft choice because you just signed someone to a one-year contract.

 

[twslam07]

The Gay signing is good for the Kings - for next year. They appear to be in a better cap situation this year by signing him, than not. The Gay signing also allows for the tryout to be for one and one-half years, rather than the short stint last season. His value to the team, or not, should be more transparent after another year. It doesn't, in my view, influence the draft. Or at least it shouldn't. You don't want to make an alternative draft choice because you just signed someone to a one-year contract.

They said they will most likely negotiate a contract extension this summer keeping the tryout to a half a year.

 

[rhythmless]

Am I the only one that thinks a big reason Rudy opted in was financial reasons? He's better off taking the for sure 20M this year and then seeing what he can get in the open market next year. There isn't really any money this go around. From reading some of the posts it's like he signed a 5 year deal at a discount to be with us.

 

[Bricklayer]

Am I the only one that thinks a big reason Rudy opted in was financial reasons? He's better off taking the for sure 20M this year and then seeing what he can get in the open market next year. There isn't really any money this go around. From reading some of the posts it's like he signed a 5 year deal at a discount to be with us.

If you'd read the reports that's apparently what happens next.

 

[pshn80]

I think it'll be interesting to see how long it takes before the fans turn on Rudy en masse. It's happened already at both of his previous teams. It's probably a good thing though that we have his 19 million dollar expiring contract to work with as we figure out what the long-term plan is. It means there's still a chance to swap him for another expensive player who's fallen out of favor with his current team or take back undesirable contracts to tease out a cheaper player you really want. We weren't going to have cap room to do anything substantial this summer anyway.

The only thing I'm nervous about is what the front office might be thinking. There's a lot of conflicting reports floating around. If they're under the same prevailing belief that the "big 3" of IT, Gay, and Cousins playing almost .500 ball for a couple months is the start of something big, we should just fast forward three years to Pete D being summarily dismissed and Coach Malone winning coach of the year for some other franchise. I don't know enough about any of our new front office personnel to predict what their next move will be and that scares me. Nothing I can do but wait and see though.

Don't be too nervous. I think the whole bunch, PDA, Malone, oh heck, I can't name them all- each and every one knows more about the team, Cuz, Gay, the draft candidates, IT, Love, Bledsoe, the values involved, the people on other teams they have to deal with, all that stuff, than any of us or all of us combined. There are only a limited number of player changes going to take place and I think our guys have good handle on our needs and will take advantage of what opportunities that come up. Sit back, relax, hope for the best, and enjoy the ride. You'll probably approve of more than half of the changes they make.

 

[Prince_XY]

Fortunately for the rest of us, you're not making the decisions.

We won here with him when the team was healthy. And he shot 48%. Maybe you were watching some other team or player?

What kind of wins are you talking about exactly?

Are you saying you are already happy with a 39 win pace that Brick was talking about when we had Cousins/Gay/IT triumvirate playing together?

 

[twslam07]

What kind of wins are you talking about exactly?

Are you saying you are already happy with a 39 win pace that Brick was talking about when we had Cousins/Gay/IT triumvirate playing together?

The fact that we were on a 39 win pace when one of our big 3 arrived halfway through the season is nothing to scoff at. Chemistry is constantly overlooked in the NBA. The more time you give them together, the better they will be as a unit. Mix in all of the players coming in and going out via trades (thus disrupting chemistry and consistent rotations), the lackluster play at SG, and the lack of a rim protector and 39 wins seems pretty darn impressive.

Context is everything.

 

[LPKingsFan]

We couldn't shoot this past year either, but were still ok on offense. And last time I checked you weren't prohibited from continuing to fill out the roster, with guys like Anthony Morrow, Francisco Garcia, PJ Tucker, Danny Granger, Thabo Sefalosha, Jodie Meeks etc. There are always unemployed spare parts shooting type lying around if you just need roster fodder. One of the few advantages to the horror that was Thornton and Ben last year, is you barely have to do anything to be able to match or exceed what you were getting out of those guys.

Depends how you define "ok on offense." The Kings were 20/30 in offensive rating, 22/30 in eFG% (straight points per game is much less helpful because of pace differential). Yes, the defense was worse, but not by a ton: 23/30 in defensive rating, 21/30 in opponent eFG%. Both are pretty bad if you ask me!

But in general I agree that a roleplaying shooting wing shouldn't be too tough to find.

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

Depends how you define "ok on offense." The Kings were 20/30 in offensive rating, 22/30 in eFG%

i would say that has nothing to do with the big three and a lot to do with the bench.

 

[Agent23]

i would say that has nothing to do with the big three and a lot to do with the bench.

I didn't know we had a big three. I count Cousins and Gay. Who's the third?

 

[Prince_XY]

Am I the only one that thinks a big reason Rudy opted in was financial reasons? He's better off taking the for sure 20M this year and then seeing what he can get in the open market next year. There isn't really any money this go around. From reading some of the posts it's like he signed a 5 year deal at a discount to be with us.

I kind of agree.

Teams are not about to offer a good deal to Rudy when there is a glut of players better than Rudy to spend those money - especially with the impending transfer of established superstars from one team to another. Our supposed to be very good player Rudy didn't even create a faint noise from other teams. He is not the kind of coveted player of winning teams that a lot of Sacramento fans think he is. That tells us what kind of player we are about to pay for 19M for another year.

So, you are right. Rudy is better off taking the for sure 19M this year.

Unfortunately for the Kings, we'll be missing this year's opportunity again to get that one sure piece to pair with Cousins. We better pray that the FO does not overpay for IT this year and cap out for next year or it will be the never-ending mediocrity situation for the Kings again.

 

[Prince_XY]

The fact that we were on a 39 win pace when one of our big 3 arrived halfway through the season is nothing to scoff at. Chemistry is constantly overlooked in the NBA. The more time you give them together, the better they will be as a unit. Mix in all of the players coming in and going out via trades (thus disrupting chemistry and consistent rotations), the lackluster play at SG, and the lack of a rim protector and 39 wins seems pretty darn impressive.

Context is everything.

The problem with this is there are indications that Rudy and IT are the kind of players that are exception to this rule no matter how individually good they are.

Rudy comes to a team, makes the team win a little bit more. Then, take out Rudy and the team suddenly becomes even better.

And IT as one of your big three?

Come on now.

Where is your basketball IQ?

We are building a championship team and not just a mediocre team.

We have to dream for something better.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Unfortunately for the Kings, we'll be missing this year's opportunity again to get that one sure piece to pair with Cousins. We better pray that the FO does not overpay for IT this year and cap out for next year or it will be the never-ending mediocrity situation for the Kings again.

How does Gay get in the way of that? If Gay had walked, there still wouldn't have been much room "to get that one sure piece." If the Kings are going to get another top talent, it will be via trade or the draft. Gay opting in does little to preclude that; in fact, you could argue having another $19 million expiring deal would be even more conducive to such an acquisition.

 

[twslam07]

The problem with this is there are indications that Rudy and IT are the kind of players that are exception to this rule no matter how individually good they are.

Rudy comes to a team, makes the team win a little bit more. Then, take out Rudy and the team suddenly becomes even better.

And IT as one of your big three?

Come on now.

We are building a championship team and not just a mediocre team.

We have to dream for something better.

Big three is more of a saying if anything. I'm not saying Thomas belongs in a big three, but those are our top 3 players as of today.

If you're referring to what happened with Toronto, then you are again lacking context. DeRozan and Gay were redundant which caused themselves to get in each others way time and time again. By replacing Gay with roleplayers, you make the team a more well oiled machine. One could argue that if DeRozan was traded instead of Gay, a similar result would have occurred in Toronto. Afterall, the Lowry/Gay combination was the best performing duo on the team.

What would you have us do? Sign Lebron? Draft the next Durant? We're not so fortunate. I posted a team earlier on this forum that could very well do some damage in the west.

PG - ???/Thomas
SG - Afflalo
SF - Gay
PF - Gibson
C - Cousins

That team is a very solid core, and guess what? It has Cousins, Gay, and Thomas all on the same team. Could this team win a championship? I don't know. A lot of it depends on how Cousins develops, who we grab as our starting PG, the coaching, and the chemistry formed between these players.

 

[Tetsujin]

I didn't know we had a big three. I count Cousins and Gay. Who's the third?

Well, IT is a "Little Third"

 

[KingMilz]

um, switch mclemore and EMPTY.

Marcus Thornton got traded already

 

[CurseOfTheSalmons]

Marcus Thornton got traded already

i see what you did there. that was nice.

 

[KingMilz]

Fortunately for the rest of us, you're not making the decisions.

We won here with him when the team was healthy. And he shot 48%. Maybe you were watching some other team or player?

I'm sorry but any half decent (above average talent) player would have helped us win swapping him for Salmons/Hayes and Vasquez who was no where near 100% with us. Still below 500. and still when you actually watched us we looked nothing like a playoff team the ball movement aside from Cousins kicking out of doubles was a disaster and we had two guys at most on the floor give consistant defensive effort (Reggie or JT and Ray Mac). The only time there was a considerable difference in the quality of our team was when Cousins was out, I literally didn't even notice Gay/Thomas were not there when they didn't play.

Again I will never question Rudy's talent I just don't beleive the way he plays is good for winning, best of luck to Rudy I hope he proves me wrong and him and Cousins make a lethal 1-2 punch but I at this point in time don't see it.

 

[Agent23]

Well, IT is a "Little Third"

More like .5 and for a second there i thought you said "t*rd" lol.

 

[pshn80]

I love the championship idea but let's hit mediocre first. 41 wins is .500. I haven't seen that for a while. Let's get there and then complain that we don't have a winning team.

I'm sorry but any half decent (above average talent) player would have helped us win swapping him for Salmons/Hayes and Vasquez who was no where near 100% with us. Still below 500. and still when you actually watched us we looked nothing like a playoff team the ball movement aside from Cousins kicking out of doubles was a disaster and we had two guys at most on the floor give consistant defensive effort (Reggie or JT and Ray Mac). The only time there was a considerable difference in the quality of our team was when Cousins was out, I literally didn't even notice Gay/Thomas were not there when they didn't play.

Again I will never question Rudy's talent I just don't beleive the way he plays is good for winning, best of luck to Rudy I hope he proves me wrong and him and Cousins make a lethal 1-2 punch but I at this point in time don't see it.

We need a team punch not a one two punch.

 

[Tetsujin]

Damn it, guyz. Should've waited on Rudy.

Chris Broussard @Chris_Broussard
LeBron James' agent Rich Paul has told Heat LeBron will exercise early termination option

Coulda had Lebron! #FIREVIVEK!

 

[The_Jamal]

Marcus Thornton got traded already

Holy crap, this is the greatest thing you've ever said.

 

[Spike]

His defense is inconsistent at best, and he doesnt hold his own against other top SFs. Durant owns him.

So...

Damn it, guyz. Should've waited on Rudy.



Coulda had Lebron! #FIREVIVEK!

How has he fared vs. Durant? THAT'S the barometer.

 

[The_Jamal]

In the NBA, you have to play the hand your team is dealt. We're 1 year removed from selling the 5th pick in the draft to save $1million bucks. All of our bad contracts from the Maloofian era don't end until next year (Jet, D-Will, Evans, Gay, Outlaw) Not all bad contracts, but a product of all our bad deals From the previous seasons.

Reality is, we just don't have much to work with this off-season. With the Gay chip falling, you're basically looking at McLemore and 8 as your only assets to deal. And those guys are your future on extremely manageable contracts over the next 4 years.

There were signs last season of a team that could make some noise. We saw really for the first time in 8 years, a team that had a chance to compete on a nightly basis. And for that 1 month stretch when everyone was healthy, the Kings were playing as well as anyone in the NBA. There were many games where you felt like we were a few role players away from being a playoff contender.

We got to believe a full-offseason working under the new regime and coaching staff is going to do wonders for team chemistry and understanding of the offensive and defensive schemes. We also have to trust in the development of Ben and Ray in their 2nd year, and hopefully look to IT and DeMarcus to take the next step. Team building is a process and I hope we don't leverage it by getting someone like Taj Gibson for our future.

 

[Chubbs]

What kind of wins are you talking about exactly?

Are you saying you are already happy with a 39 win pace that Brick was talking about when we had Cousins/Gay/IT triumvirate playing together?

His assertion was that rudy only makes teams worse.

He made ours better. Not good enough, but better.

 

[Chubbs]

I'm sorry but any half decent (above average talent) player would have helped us win swapping him for Salmons/Hayes and Vasquez who was no where near 100% with us. Still below 500. and still when you actually watched us we looked nothing like a playoff team the ball movement aside from Cousins kicking out of doubles was a disaster and we had two guys at most on the floor give consistant defensive effort (Reggie or JT and Ray Mac). The only time there was a considerable difference in the quality of our team was when Cousins was out, I literally didn't even notice Gay/Thomas were not there when they didn't play.

Again I will never question Rudy's talent I just don't beleive the way he plays is good for winning, best of luck to Rudy I hope he proves me wrong and him and Cousins make a lethal 1-2 punch but I at this point in time don't see it.

I'm not sure what you expect to happen. Sign Lebron or melo?

Rudy is the best we can do at sf, now and in the future. That's just a reality. He gives us a chance. Remove him, no chance next season. It's up to the coach and front office to get him playing a winning style.

The fact we had one nba guard might have something to do with the ball movement thing.

We either got lucky rudy couldn't find another taker, or unlucky he couldn't find another taker. He's still only 27. I think we tend to forget that and act like he's a finished product.. We can't let talent like that leave. I think rudy was on his way out and then caught wind of the melo/Lebron situations and realized he wasn't the big fish he thought he was and just took the money. Pure speculation on my part. We shall see on the long term contract with us whether that happens. I'm less sold on that than this one season. I have no problems with this season. He had this contract when we traded for him yet people seem surprised.