Rudy Gay Rumors: Free-Agent SF Interested in Thunder; Salary a Potential Hurdle

Free-agent forward Rudy Gay and the Oklahoma City Thunder maintain a mutual interest but are having difficulty finding an amenable salary that works under the cap. 

Royce Young of ESPN.com reported Gay's "preference" is to join the Thunder, just not at the salary they're currently able to offer.

Gay met with the Thunder over the weekend but left without a contract offer. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings have also expressed some level of interest, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and ABC10's Sean Cunningham (h/t Sactown Royalty) respectively.

Gay, 30, spent the last three-and-a-half seasons with the Kings. He averaged 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 30 games in 2016-17 before suffering a ruptured Achilles. No formal timetable has been set for Gay's return to the floor.

"I'd say the toughest part is over," Gay told reporters in April. "It's been one of those situations where you wake up and you feel like the world is over some days and some days you're motivated."

The Thunder are looking for a wing player to pair next to the newly acquired Paul George. Their offseason plan has apparently been to push all their chips into the middle of the table for next season in hopes of convincing Russell Westbrook and George to sign long-term contracts. 

Capped out without any real recourse to get under unless they deal Enes Kanter—a move they don't want to make—the Thunder can only offer Gay the mid-level exception. Assuming it stays under the tax threshold, Oklahoma City can offer Gay a contract starting at $8.4 million.

Given that Gay declined a player option in Sacramento that would have paid him $14.3 million, it's hard to see how he winds up in Oklahoma City barring a sign-and-trade.