Warriors, Lakers in contention to add 17-year NBA veteran
Rudy Gay may finally get to unpack his bags.
After being traded twice in one week, Gay was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, setting the scene for the 17-year veteran to latch on with a contending squad.
League sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that the veteran forward is expected to draw the interest of several teams, including the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Chicago Bulls.
Gay, who will be 37 years old by the start of the 2023-24 season, averaged 6.7 points and 3.6 rebounds over the past two years as a member of the Utah Jazz. A former No. 8 overall selection back in 2006, Gay was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this month as part of the John Collins trade. Five days later, the Hawks shipped Gay to Oklahoma City in exchange for veteran sharpshooter Patty Mills.
Despite the Thunder waiving Gay, the team is still on the hook to pay him $6.48M this coming season. In total, Gay will presumably earn a salary just north of $9M in 2023-24 once/if he is signed for the veteran league minimum ($3.19M for players with at least 10 years of NBA experience).
A borderline All-Star talent during his prime, Gay is far from the 20-plus ppg scorer he was during his stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings. Still, he's a wily veteran and a versatile two-way forward who has also logged minutes at center during his career.
Gay would serve as a serviceable depth piece at forward behind LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura for the Lakers. Golden State's looming interest in Gay is a bit less obvious due to the addition of Dario Šarić earlier this offseason and the need to find minutes for Jonathan Kuminga.
More must-reads: