The San Antonio Spurs were a Kawhi Leonard injury away from at least putting a scare into the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Already at the top of the 2018 odds list for “Teams Not Named The Warriors or Cavaliers,” the Spurs have fit a valuable piece into their ever-evolving roster puzzle by signing free agent Rudy Gay to a two-year, $17 million deal on Thursday.
Free agent forward Rudy Gay has agreed to a two year deal with the Spurs, league sourcs tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Gay quickly confirmed the story (as much as one can) on his Twitterfeed.
Let's go #Spurs
— Rudy Gay (@RudyGay8) July 7, 2017
Gay spent the past four seasons with the Sacramento Kings, most recently averaging 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Both of those numbers are on par with his career numbers as well (18.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG). Of course, Gay is also coming off of a full rupture of his left Achilles tendon in January, hence the second-year option.
In the end, Gay left Sacramento for San Antonio for a chance to be part of a contender. Spurs worked hard to close this over 72 hours.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2017
Rudy will be playing in his 12th NBA season and looking for only his second playoff berth (Memphis, 2012). If you want to make the playoffs and can’t be a part of the Warriors or Cavaliers, there’s probably no safer bet than to join the Spurs. As for how much of a contribution he’ll be able to make following the injury, we’ll have to wait and see.