Sacramento Kings: One really good summer away from NBA relevance

Let Rudy Go

Rudy Gay has played his best basketball in Sac-Town, and before tearing his Achilles last season, was posting solid numbers yet again (18.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.7 APG, 50.2 eFG%, 37.2 3P%).

Unfortunately his season was cut short, and the Sacramento Kings were forced to rotate through Matt Barnes, Arron Afflalo, Ben McLemore, Garrett Temple (and later on in the season), Tyreke Evans. While all of the aforementioned players are fine players in their own rights, none offer the scoring ability and versatility that Gay does/did.

So why should the Kings get rid of him?

While I am still a little skeptical that the Kings are really focusing on the things in basketball that matter – namely building a stable culture and actually trying to win games – Gay doesn’t fit into the timeline that takes for an organization to establish those things. I don’t think Gay is a bad teammate or person, but for a guy that has been reportedly disgruntled and is almost certain to opt out his current contract to seek a payday anywhere but Sacramento, does that really seem like the veteran leadership you want around?

While the Kings would have a gaping hole at the 3, the Kings do have two picks in the top 10 they could try and fill with O.G. Anunoby or Jayson Tatum.