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The Sacramento Kings are coming off yet another disappointing season after missing the playoffs for the 11th straight year with some uncertainty surrounding the future of the roster.
One of those core pieces in veteran forward Rudy Gay has decided to opt out of the final year of his three-year, $40 million deal that is worth $14.2 million next season, according to Albert Nahmad of heathoops.com.
Rudy Gay has officially declined to exercise his $14.3M player option by his 6/10 deadline. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) June 12, 2017
Gay's decision to become an unrestricted free agent does come with some surprise given that his year ended abruptly due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. Despite that, he should be an attractive free agent on the open market given his proven scoring ability while being just 30 years old with several productive seasons ahead of him.
Granted, much of this will depend on how he recovers from his Achilles injury, and if teams are willing to take a chance on him. That said, there is persistent chatter that he's interested in joining the Miami Heat, which once again was brought to attention by JD Shaw of Def Pen Hoops last week.
And, as I included in a recent @DefPenHoops story: A person close to free agent Rudy Gay told me Gay remains interested in heading to Miami.
— JD Shaw (@JShawNBA) June 10, 2017
Any mutual interest from the Heat will likely be determined by how their pursuit of Gordon Hayward goes in free agency. On top of that, the team could also look into bringing back Dwyane Wade back as he can become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming summer if he declines his $23.8 million player option for next season.
There are plenty of pieces that would have to first fall in place before Miami switches its attention toward Gay. In his first 11 seasons in the league, he is averaging 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
