When Vivek Ranadive and the new ownership group took over the Sacramento Kings franchise, they wanted to make two things clear. One, they were going to make big time moves like trading for Rudy Gay. Secondly, big man DeMarcus Cousins was the face of the organization and they were going to pay him accordingly, however, his duties extended far beyond the hardwood.
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In addition to simply playing the game, Cousins has been tasked with a handful of extra commitments which includes getting the team name in the public spotlight (say like appearances on ESPN and ABC) while also helping the Kings with roster moves.
Such has taken place with potential free agent Rudy Gay as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee says Cousins has reached out to the former UConn product in hopes of keeping Gay with the team moving forward.
DeMarcus Cousins said he has reached out to Rudy Gay about staying with the Kings. The two meshed well on the court.
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) June 19, 2014
DeMarcus Cousins on Rudy Gay: "He knows that I want him back. I need him on this ride."
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) June 19, 2014
Cousins also went on to say that he’s a big fan of what Pete D’Alessandro and the rest of the front office is doing and I think the majority would agree for the most part.
As for Rudy Gay, he currently owns a $19 million dollar player option for the upcoming season though has not given any public indication if he plans to exercise it or not. Regardless, Sacramento wants him back as shown by the Kings recent courting and the fan support when Gay made his way to the city earlier this month.
Of course, Gay may wait to see what the free agent market looks like before he makes a final decision (which is completely understandable as there are teams likely to have interest if they whiff on LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony), but he’s already stated that he could see a future with the Sacramento Kings and I’m guessing the full-court press which included a virtual reality tour of the new downtown arena was quite impressionable.