Opinion: Does Rudy Gay Stay or Walk Away From The Sacramento Kings?

Will Rudy Gay decide to stay or leave the Sacramento Kings this upcoming summer? Here is my intake on the topic.

The Sacramento Kings will have to face a lot of decisions this summer regarding their player personnel, but one decision that is out of their control is Rudy Gay.

Gay currently has one more year on his contract in which he is due to be paid north of $14 million for the 2017-2018 season, but this is a player option.

What this means is that Gay has a chance to opt out of his contract which will make him an unrestricted free agent this summer (per Spotrac). If Gay does choose to opt out of his contract, it most likely means that his tenure with the Sacramento franchise would be over.

Kings fans, we asked you all a couple days ago whether Gay would remain in the purple and white for next season. Listed down below are the results of what some of you had to say on the issue.

My Thoughts

In my opinion, I think it is inevitable that Gay becomes a free agent in the next couple of months. He is currently 30 years of age, so in my opinion, he might be looking to play for a team that can at least compete in the playoffs.

Not only do I think that Gay is looking to be on a more competitive squad, but there is also the possibility that he can make more money being a free agent than what he is due to make with Sacramento.

With the NBA cap salary increasing by the season, teams are opening up their wallets to the max to have players join their organizations. I think there is a team that would pay Rudy good money to have him join their team. Even coming off an Achilles injury, I think Gay could be offered a contract around the $15-20 million range per season.

I mean, Wesley Matthews faced the same situation as Rudy back in 2015, and he still was able to sign a 4 year/$70 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks in a lower NBA market.

Final Thoughts

I do think that Kings fans have seen the last of Rudy Gay on their beloved team. Because there is a good likelihood that Gay can make more money playing for a more competitive team makes me think he will become a free agent this summer.

In the 223 games that Gay has played for Sacramento, he was a great offensive scorer. During that span, Gay was able to average 19.3 points per game while shooting 46.4% from the floor, 34.7% from the perimeter, and 83.3% from the free-throw line (per Basketball Reference).

If Gay does decide to stay with the Kings, the team would retain an offensive asset that can come up big in the clutch. But if Gay does decide to look for work elsewhere, it was a pleasure watching him play in the purple and white.