Rudy Gay is less than a month away from making a major decision on his NBA future. Does he opt out of his contract or does he play out its final year?
It seems the Sacramento Kings are hoping to convince him to do the latter. According to Yahoo! Sports, the Kings plan to pitch Gay on opting into the last season of his contract during a meeting taking place in Sacramento next week.
Gay will reportedly meet with Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, general manager Pete D’Alessandro and head coach Michael Malone. Hall of Famers Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, who are part of the Kings front office, will also take part in the meeting.
Yahoo! Sports also reports that Kings brass plan to sell Gay on Sacramento’s future by giving him a virtual tour of the Kings new arena. The 27-year-old forward will likely pay a visit to the team’s new experience center located near the site of the planned building at the Downtown Plaza. The XC, as the Kings are calling it for short, offers a preview of the new arena’s amenities and features, including a virtual look at the venue using Oculus Rift. The Kings plan on opening their new home, which is beginning construction now, in 2016.
Gay has a player option on the fifth year of an $82-million contract he originally signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2010. If he opts in, he can put off free agency for another summer and make roughly $19 million with the Kings next season. If he opts out by the June 30 deadline, he can test the market as an unrestricted free agent and either sign a new long-term deal in Sacramento or elsewhere.
After being traded from the Toronto Raptors to the capital city in a blockbuster deal last December, the 27-year-old forward had a career-resurgence with the Kings. Gay averaged 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 55 games with the Kings. He also posted a true-shooting percentage of 56.7 percent, 10 points higher than the 46.8 percent he shot in 18 games with the Raptors this season.
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