NBA Free Agency 2019: 5 offseason targets for the Charlotte Hornets

2. Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay is the best current player on this list. He’s a capable shooter and defender. He provides solid tough shot making, something the Hornets are already short on before they presumably lose Jeremy Lamb as a cap casualty. He’s improved as a passer in recent years, He’s even somewhat familiar with some of the concepts the Hornets use, having played the past two years in San Antonio where Hornets’ coach James Borrego was before being hired on as the head coach in Charlotte.

Gay is also the most difficult sell for non-basketball reasons. He’ll be 33 next year, on the wrong side of an Achilles tear, and ultimately be nothing other than a stopgap. He has no place in the long term plans of the franchise, and there’s a mild history when it comes to forwards on the wrong side of their prime going from San Antonio to Charlotte. The biggest prompt to go after Rudy Gay would be in an attempt to sell Kemba Walker on the idea that the Hornets will continue to pursue a playoff berth. That, however, only makes sense if he somehow buys that Gay makes more sense than Jeremy Lamb, whose UConn based relationship with Kemba Walker is far more well established than that of Walker and Gay. Further, the Spurs have a recent history that has seen them overpay for older veterans who have played in their system before, which might make Gay take the full mid-level exception despite probably not being worth that much. Ultimately, while Gay is the best current player here, he’s unlikely to be the best player to prioritize.