NBA Trade Rumors: 5 destinations for Rudy Gay
By John Buhler
1. New Orleans Pelicans
One trade that seems to make a ton of sense should it come to fruition is if the Sacramento Kings trade small forward Rudy Gay to the New Orleans Pelicans for small forward Ryan Anderson. It would stand as one of those rare trades that truly make both teams better instantaneously.
Gay would join Anthony Davis in the Pelicans’ starting frontcourt and could act as New Orleans terrific second-best player. Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has made several frustrating roster moves over the last few years and needs a player that is both healthy and able to start for a decently strong NBA team.
Both are areas that the Pelicans have tremendous difficulty within 2015-16, as they sit in 12th place in the Western Conference with a 14-27 record, 4.0 games back of the Kings for the eighth and final spot in the West Conference Playoffs.
It will take some time for Gay to figure out how to play with Davis and get reacquainted with former Kings ball hog point guard Tyreke Evans. Let’s not forget that Eric Gordon, another shoot-first player, will rejoin the team in a month or so after he recovers from a broken finger.
What acquiring Gay does for Demps is that it seemingly makes other players on the roster expendable for other trades to be made. Having a bit of continuity between Davis and Gay could help the Pelicans re-establish their core, while presenting to possible free agent targets what it could look like playing on the same team with both Davis and Gay.
New Orleans likely won’t make the playoffs this season, so it might be in the club’s best interest to go after a player that could make them better in 2016-17. Davis and Gay did play for the US Men’s National Team two summers ago, so perhaps they are familiar with their respective playing styles.
Davis needs a sidekick in New Orleans if he ever hopes to make noise in the deep Western Conference. Maybe Gay can become that for the Pelicans starting in a matter of days should trade talks between the Pelicans and Kings organizations continue to progress.