Rudy Gay Trade Rumors: Latest News and Speculation on Kings SF

The Sacramento Kings have been fielding plenty of inquiries regarding veteran forward Rudy Gay, but the team continues to say he is not on the trade block.

Continue for updates.

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Gay Reportedly Looking for Trade

Wednesday, Feb. 17

Sam Amico of Fox Sports reported Gay is "pushing for a trade" ahead of Thursday's deadline, according to Basketball Insiders.

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Ham: Gay Not Going Anywhere for Now

Friday, Jan. 29

According to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com, the Kings do not intend to trade Gay, but that doesn't mean they will take the option completely off the table. "If [vice president of basketball operations and general manager] Vlade Divac and the Kings brass believe they can make the team marketably better through trade, be it Gay or anyone else, they will listen."

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Gay Plays Big Role in Kings' Playoff Push

The Kings have not made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season, but despite a 22-31 record, they are just 4.5 games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. Any moves they make this season could be the difference between qualifying for the postseason or a lottery pick. 

Gay has been a huge factor in the Kings' improvement, ranking second behind DeMarcus Cousins in points (17.9) and rebounds (6.7) per game. Ham broke down his current contract situation.

"The 29-year-old is under contract next season at $13.3 million, and he has a player option for the following season at $14.2 million," Ham wrote. "Those numbers become decidedly more attractive this summer when the NBA salary cap jumps to $88 million."

Keeping the 10-year veteran won't come cheap, and it might make sense to make a trade for some younger talent and work on improving over the next few years. Sheridan Hoops (h/t Ham) reported two weeks ago that the Kings offered Gay for New Orleans Pelicans in exchanged for swingman Ryan Anderson, who is two years younger and about $5 million cheaper. 

It would have been an interesting trade considering Anderson is averaging 16.7 points per game, but the Pelicans turned it down.

If Gay remains on the team and the Kings hang on for their eighth spot, they likely won't last long against either the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs.

Trading him wouldn't necessarily be tanking. Adding youth then earning a lottery selection could go a long way toward building a contender.