Warriors Sign Former Thunder Forward Ahead of Training Camp

The Golden State Warriors are gearing up for another run at contention with Stephen Curry still providing elite-level play. They're doing so by adding a former Oklahoma City Thunder forward who never happened to play a game in a Thunder jersey.

Rudy Gay was traded to the Thunder, albeit a few years too late, and was eventually waived the Thunder and given the opportunity to select his next team, which led to him leaving for the Bay area.

Gay in Oklahoma City just didn't make sense. His veteran presence would have been nice, but Gay can provide more than just a veteran presence, and the Thunder didn't need that. He'll be able to provide that alongside his talent with Golden State, a team looking to gear up for another title run.

The Warriors have made plenty of moves this offseason. There's no longer a "split timeline." They moved Jordan Poole for another former Thunder in Chris Paul, and now bring in the 37-year-old forward in Gay. They're pushing their chips for one last big bang as a team.

Over the course of his career, Gay has averaged 15.8 points per game on 49 percent efficiency. He's heading into his 18th season as a player and is a true veteran to the game.

This, of course, is a one-year deal. The two sides can easily part ways if the pairing doesn't make sense and Paul will likely be gone after one season as well.

For the Thunder, as mentioned, the pairing with Gay didn't make sense, opening up the possibility for this signing. They still are taking plenty of players in training camp and preseason, and have more roster trimming to do ahead of the start of regular season (read more about that here).

It'll be interesting to see what role Gay will get, especially considering Andrew Wiggins' role and impact on the team. Maybe Gay will play a similar role behind him, but that's to be determined at a later date.

The Warriors had a chance to go out and sign a backup big man to add some height but decided to pass on that to sign Gay.

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