WOJ: Rudy Gay informs Kings he'll opt out and likely not return

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#32
Good points, fellas!

I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready for the post Rudy trade jump in winning percentage that other teams have been blessed with after shipping him out!

:p
That's the stigma that's preventing this team for getting value for him though if they are indeed shopping him
 

CruzDude

Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
#33
Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
Is this now a classic Damd if you do and damd if you don't? Don't blame him one bit for wanting out as he can help put an upper echelon team deep into playoffs. He has grown tired of the dysfunctional management within the Kings the past 3 years. Good attitude on floor, very good vet presence and 20/game ability every night. But now with his "clarification" everyone knows he wants to be a free agent next year so why cough up a good starter for someone who can be gotten for pure cash next summer when everyone (almost) has a ton to spend.

Kings have a bunch of youngsters and a couple who could be 3's/stretch 4's with good outside shots coming that need court time. Seems that would have to cut into Rudy's time but if they want to make the playoffs then Rudy may be a key cog to get them there.

funkykingston above says it on the head.
 
#34
I've never had so much difficulty finding a trade that made sense for all parties. The best I can come up with is centered around a future unprotected pick from LAC.
 
#35
What a dumb move. Honestly. I hope he realizes that with every sentence that he says publicly about him wanting out makes it that much more difficult to trade him. Rudy do yourself a favor and shut the hell up. I don't want you here either, but give Vlade at least some leverage in trade talks. Now we will get next to nothing in return. Way to handicap us you dumb***.
He doesn't want to be traded. He wants to just stay here and not bother with a move and then sign a new contract next summer. Frankly I don't blame him after how he was treated (Malone firing). I might have hoped he would have stayed quiet just as a courtesy to the current team and management to try to come to some kind of amicable split.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#37
Also mentioned in Woj's article:

Vivek takes a very active roll in player personnel decisions. Yikes.

Looks like the irritant is still irritating. He just learned to keep his yap shut.
So you automatically take Woj's word for it that Vivek is still very active, when there's absolutely no indication in that regard anywhere else? Sorry, I know your hatred of Vivek goes deep, but this just smacks of Woj AGAIN taking his "source" information at face value.

If Rudy leaves, he leaves. In all honesty, I haven't been that impressed with him in quite a while anyway. Some nights he's there, other nights it looks like he'd rather be home playing NBA2K17 or whatever...

This whole thing has AGENT written all over it in huge indelible letters. Color me about as impressed with this as I am with the new statue...
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#38
I don't buy what Woj is selling in regards to Vivek and meddling. This smacks of a player agent agenda. Id bring Rudy off the bench and if he bitches and complains, de-activate his ass and let him rot until the trade deadline.
 
#40
So you automatically take Woj's word for it that Vivek is still very active, when there's absolutely no indication in that regard anywhere else? Sorry, I know your hatred of Vivek goes deep, but this just smacks of Woj AGAIN taking his "source" information at face value.

If Rudy leaves, he leaves. In all honesty, I haven't been that impressed with him in quite a while anyway. Some nights he's there, other nights it looks like he'd rather be home playing NBA2K17 or whatever...

This whole thing has AGENT written all over it in huge indelible letters. Color me about as impressed with this as I am with the new statue...
And sure you like to extend value for as much or as long as you can, but sometimes people just finish out their contracts and part ways.

Who cares if he says he's unlikely to resign today.

Rudy is going to show up and be a professional, sure maybe with a smart comment here or there. But he's never been trouble, and in a contract year.

May be in our best interest to hold on to him anyways.

And I'm not convinced if we just happened to offer the best deal here in town later he will refuse it later.

So show the world what you can do Rudy. This agent smoke is something we should all be familiar with now.

Like funky said, let's see how everything goes towards the deadline.
 

Glenn

Hall of Famer
#41
I hope Rudy has a great year. I hope it pushes the Kings to respectability. After that, let the cards fall where they may.

As to Vivek meddling, why not? As long as he is not directly interacting with players in a negative way and grabbing a mic to blab his latest theory, he has the right because he has the money. He is improving and I trust Vlade wouldn't stay if Vivek didn't turn off his mouth.
 
#42
I like thst line about PDA and stability. Joke, I cant figure how he and Malone coexist in Denver. I being a peaceful man would still want to break his face on a daily basis. crap Malone was so scarred his whole family refuses to wear purple, kind of silly.
Rudy can go in my opinion. Probably best for both parties.
Im happy with Casspi and a scrappy Barnes taking those minutes and still think there is a chance we could land a promising young PG from a guard loaded team like Boston or Minnesota.
 
#44
And this is news how exactly?

As long as Rudy does not become a disruptive influence in the locker room and around the team, I am fine with keeping him for the whole season and then him walking out on us. We have clearly structured a whole lot of our contracts to come off the books at the same time so that we can completely re-tool or re-build depending on what happens with Cousins.

If Gay does stink it up, he also has a fair bit to lose in free agency. I am expecting him to be a pro, have a very good season and then sign with another team next year. Until then, he is a King and if he can be part of the group of players and coaches that will rebuild the culture this season, I am more than happy when he opts out and leaves. Go earn that money somewhere else and we will spend ours on someone else.
 
#45
He doesn't want to be traded. He wants to just stay here and not bother with a move and then sign a new contract next summer. Frankly I don't blame him after how he was treated (Malone firing). I might have hoped he would have stayed quiet just as a courtesy to the current team and management to try to come to some kind of amicable split.
I don't care what Rudy wants or doesn't want. There's a certain way things should be handled. He has made it clear already that he wants out. Divac essentially said well call me this relationship is a two way street and he also said he will do what he can and what's best for the team... his comments just make sacramento look like an even worse destination than before while also making it really difficult to get fair value in return. I understand he felt betrayed when Malone was fired, but playing like horse crap for most of last season while now griping during the off season really annoys me. That's how children act. He should have kept his mouth shut because whatever chance he had to be traded this off-season just vanished because of his own doing. Now he will most likely have to wait until the trade deadline.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#46
So you automatically take Woj's word for it that Vivek is still very active, when there's absolutely no indication in that regard anywhere else? Sorry, I know your hatred of Vivek goes deep, but this just smacks of Woj AGAIN taking his "source" information at face value.

If Rudy leaves, he leaves. In all honesty, I haven't been that impressed with him in quite a while anyway. Some nights he's there, other nights it looks like he'd rather be home playing NBA2K17 or whatever...

This whole thing has AGENT written all over it in huge indelible letters. Color me about as impressed with this as I am with the new statue...
VF21, come on. ...

You KNOW you have to take my crazy pessimism with a grain of salt! I post happy stuff too, sometimes! I'm just fiery and fly off the handle at times!!

Ah well, you continue to be the Tums to my heartburn! :p

Ps: I've since come around to the notion that Woj was just being Woj. All of the moves this summer smack of Vlade.
 
#47
I don't care what Rudy wants or doesn't want. There's a certain way things should be handled. He has made it clear already that he wants out. Divac essentially said well call me this relationship is a two way street and he also said he will do what he can and what's best for the team... his comments just make sacramento look like an even worse destination than before while also making it really difficult to get fair value in return. I understand he felt betrayed when Malone was fired, but playing like horse crap for most of last season while now griping during the off season really annoys me. That's how children act. He should have kept his mouth shut because whatever chance he had to be traded this off-season just vanished because of his own doing. Now he will most likely have to wait until the trade deadline.
I'm inclined to see if we can get a late first rounder for him and cut him loose and get on with the season. He's just going to be a distraction now. That, or just flat out bench him, maybe even tell him to stay home, etc. We can save our rep as an org by taking a strong stance here. Hey we're just "doing what's best for our team".
 
#48
Trading Gay is addition by subtraction, especially if Barnes and Tolliver are expected to play any minutes.
Gay doesn't space the floor, and for a "supposedly" good iso scorer, doesn't step up when Cuz is out.

I would take anything that isn't a bad long contract in exchange for Gay.
 
#49
Trading Gay is addition by subtraction, especially if Barnes and Tolliver are expected to play any minutes.
Gay doesn't space the floor, and for a "supposedly" good iso scorer, doesn't step up when Cuz is out.

I would take anything that isn't a bad long contract in exchange for Gay.
That's the problem, teams probably trying to unload their trash on us ie their bad contracts etc. I'm against the knee jerk reaction to just trade him for trash. I'd rather just hold onto Gay and have his cap space next year.
 
#50
What's interesting to me is the reason why we started shopping him if that was true

To me, Omri is a starting caliber player who fits as a 3/D next to Cuz, and you signed Barnes to play the three as well. But to me, I didn't have a problem taking a look at Gay and Casspi possibly together at the forwards, just because they are both good players who many think of as 3/4s

Collison
Afflalo
Gay/Casspi
Casspi/Gay
Cousins

if WCS doesnt show enough to command that starting 4 this year. I know when we tried it under Karl the rebounding and some other factors were suspect. I infer coaching/management not believing it a full time option, and believing Omri a better fit under the movement/defense of Joerger
 
#51
What's interesting to me is the reason why we started shopping him if that was true

To me, Omri is a starting caliber player who fits as a 3/D next to Cuz, and you signed Barnes to play the three as well. But to me, I didn't have a problem taking a look at Gay and Casspi possibly together at the forwards, just because they are both good players who many think of as 3/4s

Collison
Afflalo
Gay/Casspi
Casspi/Gay
Cousins

if WCS doesnt show enough to command that starting 4 this year. I know when we tried it under Karl the rebounding and some other factors were suspect. I infer coaching/management not believing it a full time option, and believing Omri a better fit under the movement/defense of Joerger
A Collison/Gay/Casspi/Cousins combo (with Rondo off the court) averaged 43.99 rebounds per 100 possessions. That would put them at 18th in the league which is slighthly below average. To be honest, that's not bad considering the tradeoff when it comes to offensive spacing for Cousins. Besides Collison/Casspi/Gay/Cousins over the last 2 years has produced a net rating of +14.0. For reference, the Kings as a whole had a net rating of -3.0 last year and -4.0 the year before. The Spurs led the lead in Net Rating last year with +11.8, so yes that Collsion/Gay/Casspi/Cousins combo has been very good.

Even the defense was pretty good with that combo. They had a 101.7 Def Rating. That would put them 9th in the league if they were to maintain that rating across all lineups.
 
#52
So we are desperately trying to make the Playoffs and therefore let our second biggest asset walk for nothing at the end of the year. But instead of signing players, that could actually help to reach the Playoffs, we opted for mid to low tier veterans in FA instead, because we could sign them on short term deals someone like Lee wouldn't accept.
So we want to reach the Playoffs, but we don't want to take any long term risk. This just feels very half-heartedly.

We want to win via team culture and hard work, but at the same time keep Gay, who doesn't want to be here anymore. Yes Gay will play for another contract. But this will most likely mean, we will witness a display of ISO-Gay once again, who doesn't care about the team anymore, but will care more about his individual numbers to increase his value in the upcoming FA.

This is just confusing with no clear direction and no true vision other than "ok somehow let's try one last time, but most likely we fail anyway, so let's set everything up for a rebuild at the same time". From my point of view you set a goal and than you go all-in to reach it. Setting two goals at once will often enough lead to failing to accomplish any of them.
 
#53
1. Well, now we can assume, that Rudy himself knows, this is a contract year, so you get 100% effort.
2. He was going to opt out anyway - big news, ha! He was signed at very good money even before market blowup.
3. If Cuz stays, Rudy is on the wrong timeline to be a second banana for 3-4 more years.

Obvious thing was announced - nothing changed at all.
 
#54
What's interesting to me is the reason why we started shopping him if that was true

To me, Omri is a starting caliber player who fits as a 3/D next to Cuz, and you signed Barnes to play the three as well. But to me, I didn't have a problem taking a look at Gay and Casspi possibly together at the forwards, just because they are both good players who many think of as 3/4s

Collison
Afflalo
Gay/Casspi
Casspi/Gay
Cousins

if WCS doesnt show enough to command that starting 4 this year. I know when we tried it under Karl the rebounding and some other factors were suspect. I infer coaching/management not believing it a full time option, and believing Omri a better fit under the movement/defense of Joerger
Omri still has to prove he can play defense to be a legit 3 and D guy
 
#56
What's interesting to me is the reason why we started shopping him if that was true

To me, Omri is a starting caliber player who fits as a 3/D next to Cuz, and you signed Barnes to play the three as well. But to me, I didn't have a problem taking a look at Gay and Casspi possibly together at the forwards, just because they are both good players who many think of as 3/4s

Collison
Afflalo
Gay/Casspi
Casspi/Gay
Cousins

if WCS doesnt show enough to command that starting 4 this year. I know when we tried it under Karl the rebounding and some other factors were suspect. I infer coaching/management not believing it a full time option, and believing Omri a better fit under the movement/defense of Joerger

I love Omri as much as the next fan but he's never proved capable of being a starting caliber SF. He lacks a post game. He gets stripped too easily when he drives to the hole and a lot of his forays to the rim result in these off-balance and wild flings at the rim....low percentage YMCA moves.

Omri is what he is. He's turned into one of the best three point shooters in the NBA. He has tremendous leg speed. He changes ends probably as well as anyone on our team, one of the best in the league, certainly better than Rudy. And his defense is solid. It is his turnover prone offense game when he's not spotting up for threes that is suspect.

The fans on this board are underrating Rudy. The guy is 20 PPG scorer. He's a legitimate 6'9" who can rise and finish easily over most opponents. He was hampered last season by two bum Achilles and an offense that went away from him. The flaws are there too of course: poor lateral mobility (which hopefully will improve with health), bad three point shooter, and too-cool-for-school attitude.

And I guess now we can add mentally checked out on franchise to list of flaws, but assuming Rudy returns to health, he's a solid #2 scorer, and if we trade him away, it is highly doubtful we have anyone on this roster to fill that role.
 
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kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#57
This is news to nobody on this board. He was either getting traded or he was opting out anyway. As the off season started, you can see it was more and more likely there wasn't going to be a trade made as the months passed on. From there on out, I figured the Kings would be better off holding on to him and trading him at the trade deadline, which is what may be the best and most likely possibility. Rudy does not buy into this culture change that Vlade and Joerger want to implement, so the Kings are better off trying again in a couple of months. In the mean time, it's a contract year for Rudy, so I do expect to see him put forth a little more effort than he has as of late, the Kings are a better organization for players to come to and boost their stats and then go elsewhere, Rudy join the club!
 
#58
Per the Bee

Forward Rudy Gay has told the Kings he will opt out of his contract after this season, meaning he probably will leave as an unrestricted free agent.
In a text message, Gay said he will “play the waiting game” to see what happens next, but he said he is ready for this season. Telling the Kings he was opting out was a formality and not a surprise.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/kings-blog/article102736677.html#storylink=cpy

So other than "telling kings what he plans to do" to get them to trade him now or in Feb,
does this "text" actually count as a formal opt out?

If he does not play well or is injured can he still opt in and collect 14Mil next year?
or we win, make playoffs and changes mind can he stay?

When the bee says opting out was a formality does that mean it can not be changed next June?
that we are also no longer obligated to Rudy as of now for anything after the season?
 
#59
So we are desperately trying to make the Playoffs and therefore let our second biggest asset walk for nothing at the end of the year. But instead of signing players, that could actually help to reach the Playoffs, we opted for mid to low tier veterans in FA instead, because we could sign them on short term deals someone like Lee wouldn't accept.
So we want to reach the Playoffs, but we don't want to take any long term risk. This just feels very half-heartedly.

We want to win via team culture and hard work, but at the same time keep Gay, who doesn't want to be here anymore. Yes Gay will play for another contract. But this will most likely mean, we will witness a display of ISO-Gay once again, who doesn't care about the team anymore, but will care more about his individual numbers to increase his value in the upcoming FA.

This is just confusing with no clear direction and no true vision other than "ok somehow let's try one last time, but most likely we fail anyway, so let's set everything up for a rebuild at the same time". From my point of view you set a goal and than you go all-in to reach it. Setting two goals at once will often enough lead to failing to accomplish any of them.
How do you know we didn't try to sign better players, with or without longer term risk? As far as I know we threw our hat in the ring for Lee and Anderson. This isn't a FA destination
 
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