Message to the Houston Rockets: Rudy Gay won’t be cheap
By Rafe Wong
The topic of trading Rudy Gay has been a popular one in the Sacramento Kings community.
To start the offseason, the Kings had the 6’8” forward on the trading block, and as a result, the Kings have received a degree of interest from multiple clubs.
Greg Monroe and Rudy Gay, league sources say, continue to be two of the NBA's most prominent proven vets known to be available via trade.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 19, 2016
The latest rumor pertaining to Gay has been that the Houston Rockets are interested in acquiring him. Although there is interest from the Rockets, it won’t be easy if the team is serious about bringing Gay on board. If you ask me, it is going to cost Houston some of their assets in return, and here are my two reasons why.
Report: Rockets among teams expressing strongest interest in Rudy Gay trade https://t.co/3pkCSi45tO
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) August 12, 2016
Salary Cap
Right now Gay is due to be paid over $13 million this year, which is a lot of money even with the salary cap increasing this NBA season.
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If the Kings and Rockets were to make a trade including Gay, Houston would have to send players that contracts match, or at least are close to the price that Gay’s contract totals.
When looking at the payroll for the Rockets, there are a couple of players (excluding James Harden) that Houston is able to send over that would make up for the price of Gay. Some of these players are Patrick Beverley, Corey Brewer, and Trevor Ariza.
It seems almost certain, in my opinion, that at least one of the three players listed above would be part of a trade that sends Gay to Houston.
Value
Another reason why I think it will be expensive for the Rockets to attain Gay is because of the value he brings. In his tenure with the Kings (193 games), Gay has averaged 19.4 points and 6 rebounds per game while shooting 46.5% from the floor.
Gay has proven throughout his career that he has the ability to be a second to third scoring option for a team, which means that the Kings will not just hand over Gay to the Rockets.
There’s a reason why the Kings haven’t traded Gay yet, despite teams being interested. The Kings are looking for the right deal and are certainly not desperate in trading a quality player like Gay for cheap.
Final Thoughts
Bottom line, if the Rockets are genuine in adding Rudy Gay to their roster, they will have to sacrifice some of their own assets in return.
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A realistic trade that I see happening if both teams agree on a deal would be if the Kings send over Gay and a sweetener in Georgios Papagiannis, and in return, the Kings would receive Patrick Beverley and Corey Brewer.
If this trade were to be completed, the Kings would benefit by addressing their point guard vacancy and would also bolster their defense with both players.
How this benefits the Rockets? They would acquire an exceptional offensive talent in Gay and a young big man that they can develop in Papagiannis.
It is uncertain how serious the Rockets are in trading for Rudy Gay this offseason. But what is certain, speaking for myself, is that Vlade Divac and the Kings will not let Gay go unless they believe it will help the Kings going forward.