NBA Trade Rumors: 5 destinations for Rudy Gay
By John Buhler
The Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay is one of the hottest names on the NBA trade market. Here are five teams where he could land if traded.
Though the Sacramento Kings entered Thursday night in sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference, despite boasting a sub-.500 record of 18-23, Sacramento has one of the hottest names on the NBA trading block in go-to wing scorer Rudy Gay.
Gay is a prototypical small forward that can both create his own shot and rebound the basketball well. In his third season with the Kings, Gay is averaging 17.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game in 34.0 minutes per contest.
While Gay is a great scorer regardless of whatever team he plays for (18.5 career points per game), he does tend to gravitate towards being a ball-dominant, isolation wing if his team doesn’t choose to install an offense centered on heavy ball movement.
Normally this isn’t a devastating problem for a small forward to stand as a great, ball-dominant scorer, but when a guy who needs the basketball to help his team win plays in the same frontcourt as emotional center DeMarcus Cousins, it can become a problem for that wing.
Gay could provide great wing scoring at either the starting small forward or be a player that the offense runs through in a sixth man role on a contending team. While the Kings may stay pat with Gay, here are five teams he could end up should Sacramento be willing to trade away their starting small forward.
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