The Oklahoma City Thunder are reportedly ramping up efforts to get Rudy Gay in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, a source close to situation reported on Saturday.
Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reported a week ago about the Thunder's desire of getting another scoring option other than their one-man wrecking machine Russell Westbrook, and apparently, Gay stands out as the most feasible option for the team.
The veteran NBA insider even disclosed the Thunder were very close to hammering a deal with the Kings for a Gay until Cameron Payne suffered a foot injury last September.
Via Woj:
"Sacramento has been determined to find a young point guard to run its team. The Kings were seriously engaged with Oklahoma City on a Rudy Gay deal that would have included the Thunder's second-year point guard, Cameron Payne, but those talks stalled after Payne broke his foot in September, league sources said."
However, there are reports that the Thunder is planning to revisit the deal once Payne is fully cleared from injury. He's expected to miss the first month of the regular season and could be available for any negotiations when trade season heats up around December.
Gay, who averaged 17.2 points and 6.2 rebounds last season, would be a great upgrade for the Thunder at small forward position after losing Kevin Durant to free-agency this summer. He could be a great second option on offense alongside Westbrook.
For now, it looks like the Thunder will rely heavily on their star point guard. Westbrook dropped 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a win against the Phoenix Suns last Friday. On opening night, Westbrook was an assists shy of recording a triple-double after recording 35 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in a win against the Philadelphia 76ers.