Rudy Gay (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors continue and they range from sensible to preposterous. Rudy Gay has been linked to a number of teams as he is on the trading block, but the San Antonio Spurs?
There are speculative trades based on reports, but some sites have the audacity to make a bold claim. Truth be told, anything is possible in today's NBA. While we should take rumors with a grain of salt, you can never really say "never" as in "Dwyane is a Heat lifer, he'll never leave the Miami Heat."
Thus, the verdict on this claim is up to the reader. Gospel Herald wrote that "as the offseason heats up, the San Antonio Spurs is said to be expected to announce their latest acquisition: Rudy Gay."
The claim does not speculate at all-it implies that the deal is done. But should we keep refreshing the Spurs' Twitter account to check? Gay is a questionable fit for the Spurs, to say the least but there is a possibility. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders talked about Gay's price tag.
"The problem with trading Gay, who is owed $13.333 million this season, is that the Kings would have to take back some level of salary in the deal and find a team open to taking on Gay in what could be a one-year rental," Kyler wrote. "There is a sense among league insiders that the Kings are not looking for a ton in return for Gay, so that may make finding a deal a little easier even with all the issues surrounding a deal."
The Kings are not delusional in thinking that Gay would get fetch them a valuable trade piece. That being said, the fit is not clear in San Antonio, whose strongest position is the forward spot.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard are the team's best players and they are both forwards. Gay's main selling point is ability to create his own shot and he also improved his three point shot to a decent level. But is that enough to tick the Spurs' radar?
The Spurs are unlikely to trade players like Danny Green, Patty Mills or even Jonathan Simmons who are now accustomed with Coach Greg Popovich's system for Gay who at one point in his career was labeled as a "chucker."
While the Spurs can pull the trigger on a trade if it improves the team (Diaw traded to Jazz to accommodate Pau Gasol signing), Gay is not someone they'd be willing to roll the dice on.
Then again, the announcement would render these arguments moot.
