“He’s been focused now help this team win more games and help this team develop and improve each and every day,” McLemore told The Comeback.
According to McLemore, Gay is treating his contract year like any other year as a King. Guard Ben McLemore is Gay’s only other teammate besides Cousins who’s been with the team throughout Gay’s three seasons in Sacramento, and views the 11th-year veteran as a big brother. The protect home court to beat the 102-99 in a thriller. 500 through 18 games was in the 2004-05 campaign. Put into context, 7-11 isn’t so bad given that the last time Sactown had a record better than. Playing and winning at a high level is something that hasn’t been done in Sacramento in over a decade, but the Kings are still in playoff contention as we approach the quarter pole of the regular season. “I’m just really trying to find happiness and a place where I can play at a high level and win.” Did that change how he approached his play in what turned out to be a contract year? Afflalo said it became apparent to him towards the end of his one-year tenure with the New York Knicks - his opting out was always assumed when he signed a two-year deal the previous summer - that the team didn’t plan on bringing him back. Some players eschew team-oriented goals and try to put up individual numbers, while others plays like a team’s success will lead to a more lucrative deal down the road. That on/off split is even larger than DeMarcus Cousins’.Įvery player handles a contract year differently. Sacramento has outscored its opponents by 2.7 points per 100 possessions when Gay is on the floor, but is outscored by a massive 11.9 points per 100 when Gay’s on the bench, per NBA.com. 17 ESPN column - Gay’s coach and teammates say he’s handling himself totally professionally and trying to help the 7-11 Kings. Despite rumors of his upcoming summer departure or a midseason trade - Oklahoma City is still interested in a trade, per Zach Lowe’s Nov.
Gay signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension in November 2014 - a steal in today’s NBA landscape - with a third-year opt-out he’ll exercise to become an unrestricted free agent in July. “I’m not the first person to have a contract situation, so it’s just going out there and playing basketball,” Gay told The Comeback after Sacramento’s 122-105 win in Brooklyn on Sunday.
Despite a prominent September report that Rudy Gay would likely not be playing professional basketball for the Sacramento Kings beyond the current 2016-17 season, the 11th-year forward is trying his best to ignore the outside noise and lead Sacramento to its first playoff appearance in 11 years.