Former Jazzman Rudy Gay Has Interest From ‘Several’ Competitive Teams

In the aftermath of the decision for the Utah Jazz to trade for John Collins, the other moving piece of the deal Rudy Gay has had a pretty tumultuous past few weeks. After being dealt with a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, he was traded again less than a week later to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Patty Mills.

Right after that deal, he was a roster casualty by OKC due to their extremely crowded roster at this point in the summer (currently with over 20 rostered players). That means Gay was a member of three teams in less than a month; talk about a journeyman!

However, his hunt to establish himself with a new team is not over yet. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Rudy Gay has interest from a wide variety of franchises across the association after his recent release:

"Veteran forward Rudy Gay is expected to draw interest from several playoff-caliber teams, including the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls, and New Orleans Pelicans, league sources told HoopsHype."

It is no surprise that Gay is receiving some looks around the league, as he’s been a reliable rotational piece throughout his entire career. While last season in Utah was his worst efficiency-wise (38/25/85), he still managed to log over 15 minutes a night through 56 games at age 36. He’s a nice asset for a team to utilize his veteran presence and extensive experience through his 17 years pro.

Considering Rudy Gay has yet to get his long-desired championship despite his efforts, it would be no surprise to see him join more of a favorite in the race rather than a team with lower expectations. From the collection teams mentioned in the report, the Lakers and Warriors look like some of the better fits on paper.

If anything though, this makes the John Collins deal look just a bit better for the Jazz. By essentially acquiring him solely for a second-rounder now, it makes this move extremely low-risk, high-reward. Yes, while the contract JC is signed to is pretty hefty, sometimes there are swings presented to you that are just too hard for the front office to pass on. This move is one of them.

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