Rudy Gay has been put on the trading block by the Sacramento Kings. Should the Hawks look into making a trade for him?
It has recently been reported by Tony Xypteras from Sactown Royalty that the Sacramento Kings have made Rudy Gay available for trade per his request. The disgruntled small forward is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career in which he averaged 17.2 points per game, the lowest since his rookie year. He suffered through a miserable time of a variety of things and since the season ended, the situation apparently has gotten worse.
There are a few red flags that pop up when considering acquiring Rudy Gay. The first one is that wherever he has played recently, for whatever reason, after a short time his respective team doesn’t want him anymore. Another red flag is the fact that for each team he has been on they have actually improved immensely without him.
We have all watched the Toronto Raptors establish themselves as mainstays near the top of the eastern conference standings after his departure. They were 33-49 when they trotted out Gay as their starting small forward back in 2013. Then there was the time he missed the end of the 2011 season with the Memphis Grizzlies because of a left shoulder subluxation. He sat in street clothes as his team went on to upset the top seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.
But in spite of all that, the Hawks should still take a hard look at trading for Rudy Gay. Sometimes it just takes a while for a talented player like him to find a home where what he does fits into the grand scheme of what that team wants to do. This was the case for Chauncey Billups, who had to bounce all around the league until joining the Detroit Pistons and winning a championship as arguably their most important player. The Hawks should instead evaluate how having Rudy Gay would make them better.
After signing Dwight Howard this summer, the Hawks should look into surrounding him with more accurate three point shooters. The team’s leading sniper, Kyle Korver, is now 35 years old and will likely have to accept a bench role this season. Another reliable option, Jeff Teague who converted 40% of his attempts on 3 pointers, was shipped out of town before the draft to make way for Dennis Schroder as the starter. I don’t think Kent Bazemore, Paul Millsap, and Schroder can be counted on to carry that burden. Gay does fit the bill there as he is a consistent option from deep. He has shown that is a strong part of his game; such as like during the 2010-2011 season when he shot 39.6%. That was his best year and for his career he makes 34%. The Hawks will undoubtedly use a heavy dose of pick and roll with Howard and Schroder. It would be nice to have another slasher from the weak side after Dennis turns the corner. Gay would be able to help in that area as his length and athleticism allows him to finish strong through contact.
Speaking of finishing, the Hawks as constructed will have a hard time closing out games. As a matter of fact, it’s a chance they will be unable to put teams away at all. This is an issue that they just have not addressed yet. Last season they were 0-9 in games decided in overtime-including the playoffs. In games decided by 3 points or less they posted a 5-7 record. They lost both games of a home and home match-up against the Orlando Magic on the final possession. During the playoffs in game 4 of the Cleveland series, it was Schroder who barreled into the lane hoping to attempt a field goal only to be denied by a wall of defenders. There were numerous occasions with the same result scattered about the season. While having Howard is great, adding him to the roster casts an even darker cloud over the team in those situations. Because of his poor free throw shooting (48% last year), he is a liability to have on the floor at the end of games. How the coach chooses to deal with that remains to be seen.
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In case you didn’t know, Gay is a closer. So much so, I would go out on a limb and say he is one of the top five clutch performers in the league. When the pressure is highest he is the guy that can get the job done. The same cannot be said for Millsap, Schroeder, Bazemore or any one else the Hawks have. It’s not even questionable anymore. Evidence suggests that they are incapable.
There is something else that I should mention that makes a Rudy Gay trade more appealing. If recent history can be applied to his trade value at this particular moment then Rudy Gay is not hard to obtain. When I say that I mean the price of what a general manager would have to give up in order for the trade to happen should be relatively low.
On December 09, 2013 he was traded along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray from the Toronto Raptors to the Sacramento Kings for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson. As you can see, in NBA circles Rudy Gay’s price tag is very affordable. If the Hawks were to say, offer Bazemore, Eddy Tavares, Lamar Patterson and a second round draft pick for Gay and Ben McLemore, then theoretically the Kings should jump all over that.
In closing, it’s for the reasons above that it would be in the best interest of the Atlanta Hawks to trade for Rudy Gay. The eastern conference has already improved by leaps and bounds. The Bulls are charging full steam ahead, the Knicks actually are moving towards respectability and the Pacers looking to climb up the standings as well. Does adding Gay to the mix make our team championship contenders? Probably not, but it does close the gap significantly.