If Rudy Gay can recover from his Achilles tear, he could become a free agent target for the Miami Heat this summer.
Rudy Gay plans to opt out of the final year of his contract, giving up $14.2 million to leave the Sacramento Kings and enter free agency, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears. It’s an interesting decision given that Gay is recovering from an Achilles tear he suffered less than four months ago.
Gay was averaging 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30 games before suffering a complete tear of his Achilles on Jan. 18 against the Indiana Pacers. According to Spears, Gay expects to make a full recovery.
"“[Gay’s agent Roger] Montgomery said that Gay is ‘ahead of schedule’ as he has passed the initial rehabilitation stage, was cleared medically to begin weightlifting and is expected to be back on the court by mid-June.”"
It’s unclear if Gay will be able to recoup the type of money he’s leaving on the table. The most similar case to Gay’s is Wesley Matthews, who signed a four-year, $70 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks after suffering a similar injury. However, he was two years younger than Gay, 30, when he suffered that injury.
Gay may be willing to take that risk in order to escape the Kings. Gay was unhappy in Sacramento, and may be hoping to reinvigorate his career elsewhere.
That makes the Miami Heat an interesting option. Gay is believed to have eyes for South Beach, and given how the Heat were able to rehab the careers of James Johnson and Dion Waiters, they could be near the top of Gay’s list.
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The question is, then, if the Heat want to sign Gay. The aforementioned injury notwithstanding, do the Heat want a player who is a notorious ball stopper? Gay has a lot of scoring talent, and if the Heat believe they can break him out of some bad habits, he could be a valuable addition as a stretch-4.
But before that’s even a concern, Gay’s Achilles needs to check out. That will determine what direction his career goes in this summer.