![\"Gay_Vivek_D'Alessandro\"](\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gay_Vivek_DAlessandro.jpg\")
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The Sacramento Kings held a presser following\u00a0today\u2019s practice to announce a three-year, $40 million extension with starting small forward Rudy Gay. Joining Gay at the media table were team majority owner Vivik Ranadive and general manager Pete D\u2019Alessandro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I bought the team about a year ago, and we hired Petey (Pete D\u2019Alessandro) as our GM, the first thing I did is I called Petey up and I said, \u2018Petey, get us Rudy Gay,\u2019\u201d Ranadive stated at the beginning of the conference. \u201cSo then he said, \u2018Ok, ok.\u2019 And the next day I called him up and said, \u2018Get us Rudy Gay.\u2019 And I kept calling him and calling him and calling him, and finally he just got fed up and he got us Rudy Gay.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to get it done the day Rudy walked in the door,\u201d added D\u2019Alessandro. \u201cI think we felt that strongly about it, and I understand we\u2019re coming from a business sense, but when you\u2019re building a basketball team it\u2019s about putting the right people and the right players in the right positions. And we felt very strongly, look, before we even did the trade we felt very strongly, after we did the trade, we felt even more strongly. So in terms of the business end of it, it\u2019s about chemistry, it\u2019s about a team of guys and playing as a unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Kings traded for Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray from the Toronto Raptors on December 9, 2013 in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. The wing scorer joined Sacramento with less than two years remaining on a five-year, $82 million extension he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in July 2010. Gay was set to enter unrestricted free agency next summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want it to be a distraction to myself or the team, so I just wanted to get it over with,\u201d Gay explained in regards to timing of the deal. \u201cI saw the success we kind of had early, we went through a couple bumps early, but I think we still can be a great team, and obviously when you\u2019re looking at somewhere you can be for an extended amount of years, you look at where you are now, where you could be in the future, and I think this team can be very good in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gay, who\u2019s on pace for\u00a0a career-high 21.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season, went on to explain how the local community influenced his decision to bypass testing the open market.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the first day I walked in, I felt the love from the fans,\u201d said Gay. \u201cBy the way, Sacramento has some of the best fans I\u2019ve ever been around. To be here for three more years is an honor, just to for play for them. And also, even more about the city, not just being at the games, but being outside of the court and being around people, they welcome you. But the team welcomed me as soon as I got here, you know, Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was a big help, and also spending the summer with him (on Team USA) kind of swayed me into wanting to be here longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing here is kind of what I turned into,” Gay said. \u00a0“I\u2019m at a point in my life where it\u2019s just, I need stability. And Sacramento is definitely that family town that I was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old\u2019s first two years on his extension are guaranteed, followed by a player option. This will allow Gay to sign a more lucrative contract in the future as the NBA\u2019s new TV deals with ESPN and Turner promise to pump more money into league salaries. The extension also ensures that the Kings’ current core of players will be under control when the new downtown arena opens\u00a0for the 2016-17 season.<\/p>\n
But for now, the nine-year veteran can settle in at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rudy Gay re-ups with Sacramento for three more years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[610259261],"tags":[610260020,610259684,5204276,790026,610259423,1032221,610260338,1419906,76563],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n