Tag: Rudy Gay

Warriors waive veterans Rudy Gay and Rodney McGruder after preseason finale

The Warriors will reportedly start the season with 13 players on the roster.

After their preseason finale, the Golden State Warriors went right into business mode. Following their loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, the Warriors waived two players as they trimmed their roster down for the start of the regular season.

Late on Friday night, the Warriors waived veterans Rudy Gay and Rodney McGruder. With both McGruder and Gay waived, the Warriors are expected to start the season with 13 players on the roster, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. 

Via @anthonyVslater on Twitter:

https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1715598798301679851?s=20

The Warriors will have to add a 14th player before the two-week mark in the NBA season. During the offseason, the Warriors brought in a flurry of veterans to work out and compete for their 14th roster spot, including Gay, McGruder and Dwight Howard.

While Gay did not play on Friday night, McGruder scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field in 20 minutes off the bench in the Warriors’ 122-117 loss.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Rudy Gay is embracing Golden State’s aging roster

In a recent interview, Rudy Gay discussed his enjoyment at being on an aging roster with players his own age.

Rudy Gay is on a training camp deal with the Golden State Warriors. The veteran forward is fighting for a spot on the team’s regular-season roster. The Warriors have two open roster spots available. However, Golden State is expected to keep the spots open to provide roster flexibility once the new season begins.

When speaking to Andescape’s Marc J. Spears in a recent interview, Gay, 37, noted how he’s embracing the Warriors aging core. Rather than being an elder statesman on a roster, Gay isn’t even the oldest player in the locker room. He is only two years older than Steph Curry. As such, the veteran forward feels at home in the team’s locker room.

“I’m not the oldest person on a team for once,” Gay said. “To actually got into a locker room where I can hear some music that I can actually understand is refreshing. Today was Throwback Thursday. So, it was all my stuff. When you think of Throwback Thursday, we don’t think about Mary J. Blige, Usher. But, here, that’s what it is, man.”

Golden State needs additional depth on the wings. Gay brings a veteran presence with a proven track record of reliable performances and interior scoring. However, as a career 34.6% 3-point shooter, Gay wouldn’t be a seamless addition to Steve Kerr‘s perimeter-based offense.

Nevertheless, Gay will have a chance to earn a spot on the Warriors roster in the coming weeks. At 6 feet, 8 inches, the onetime UConn star would add some much-needed size to Golden State’s bench. Whatever happens, it would appear Gay is enjoying the experience, and that is an encouraging sign of the locker room unity.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1434 tag=1365]

Report: Bulls expected to show interest in 17-year NBA veteran

The Chicago Bulls could look to sign a 17-year NBA veteran in free agency.

Heading into the offseason, the Chicago Bulls wanted to improve. Arturas Karnisovas stated the team had no interest in a rebuild. Its goal was to get back into the playoffs. In the two years of having this core together, the Bulls have won a single playoff game, and that simply isn’t good enough.

So, at the beginning of free agency, the Bulls stayed active. They brought in Jevon Carter to be their starting point guard (most likely) and Torrey Craig to give them depth off the bench. They brought back Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. But they may not be done yet.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Bulls are expected to be one of many teams to show an interest in 17-year NBA veteran Rudy Gay.

“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.

“Gay was healthy last season minus a finger joint sprain that sidelined him for two weeks and a member of Utah’s rotation through most of last season. Over the last few years of his career, the 17-year veteran has developed into primarily a power forward,” Scotto wrote.

Gay was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in the John Collins deal and then moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who waived him.

With the Jazz this past season, Gay averaged 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 38% from the field and 25.4% from distance.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Lakers could be interested in Rudy Gay

Veteran forward Rudy Gay was recently waived, and the Lakers reportedly could be one of several teams that will be interested in him.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8222″]

The Los Angeles Lakers are almost done setting their roster for the 2023-24 season, but they still have two roster spots open. They reportedly want to fill one of them.

Their focus for that roster spot has been on a big man, such as Bismack Biyombo or Christian Wood. They could acquire Wood by arranging a sign-and-trade with the Dallas Mavericks, but it isn’t clear how much interest they have in doing so.

Another player the Lakers reportedly could have interest in is veteran forward Rudy Gay, who was released by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Via HoopsHype:

“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,” wrote Michael Scotto.

The Lakers have grown considerably younger over the past year, and perhaps an argument could be made that they could use one veteran role player. Gay has played 17 seasons in the NBA, and although he’s greatly diminished compared to the player he was several years ago, perhaps he could play a role similar to the one Jared Dudley had when they won the NBA championship during the 2019-20 season.

Report: Rudy Gay waived by OKC Thunder

Rudy Gay’s tenure with the Thunder came to an end.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

The Oklahoma City Thunder roster shrunk on Wednesday when they waived veteran forward Rudy Gay, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Gay was set to make $6.5 million in the 2023-24 season after he picked up his player option. The Thunder acquired the 36-year-old from the Atlanta Hawks in a multi-player trade.

In the same deal, the Thunder acquired TyTy Washington Jr., Usman Garuba and a 2026 second-round pick from the Hawks. The deal saved the Hawks $4.6 million in cap space: They acquired Patty Mills and his expiring $6.8 million salary.

The move cuts the Thunder’s main roster to 20 players, which is near the 21 allowed during the offseason.

In 56 games with the Utah Jazz last season, Gay averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

OKC Thunder officially announce full details of multiplayer trade with Hawks

Full details of the multi-player trade can be found here:

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

The Oklahoma City Thunder officially announced their multiplayer trade with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

The Thunder acquired Rudy Gay, Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington Jr. and a 2026 second-round pick from the Hawks in exchange for Patty Mills, who was officially acquired on July 7 in a five-team trade.

The three players were rerouted to the Thunder after being on two other teams since the beginning of the offseason. Gay ended last season with the Utah Jazz and picked up his $6.5 million player option. Garuba and Washington Jr. were on the Houston Rockets as 2021 and 2022 first-round picks, respectively.

The deal saves the Hawks $4.6 million in cap space. The trio is set to make a combined $11.4 million next season; meanwhile, Mills is on an expiring $6.8 million salary.

With the Thunder already facing a roster crunch, odds are none of the three players acquired will be with OKC by the start of the 2023-24 season. It’s already been reported that Garuba and Washington Jr. could have a market as young prospects on cost control deals.

The Thunder also add another second-round draft pick to their arsenal. They’ve used their $32 million in cap space this summer to essentially buy draft capital by absorbing bloated expiring deals.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Report: Thunder acquire TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, Rudy Gay, draft pick from Hawks

A lot of details in this trade as OKC continues to make moves.

[anyclip pubname=”2123″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8169″]

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to wheel and deal this offseason, as they completed another trade on Saturday.

The Thunder acquired TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, Rudy Gay and a second-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Patty Mills, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The trade saves the Hawks $4.5 million. Mills owns an expiring salary of $6.8 million.

This ends Mills’ short tenure with the Thunder. He was acquired from the Houston Rockets in a multi-team trade that also landed OKC three second-round picks.

Washington and Garuba were shipped out by the Hawks to shed salary. Washington is a 2022 first-round pick and Garuba is a 2021 first-round pick, so both are on their standard four-year rookie deals.

According to Wojnarowski, both Washington and Garuba have multiple teams interested in them as potential young projects. With the Thunder’s roster already stacked with young talent, perhaps they could acquire additional draft picks for both young players.

The Thunder currently own 35 draft picks over the next seven years.

Meanwhile, Gay was also moved for a second time after he was traded to the Hawks from the Utah Jazz. The 36-year-old picked up his $6.5 million player option for next season.

The Thunder essentially acquired four second-round picks and two young prospects for absorbing Mills’ $6.8 million salary and actually end up saving $0.3 million in Gay’s salary following the trade. A smart usage of cap space for a team that had money to spend.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Recent Bleacher Report trade proposal sees the Boston Celtics look west to replace Danilo Gallinari’s minutes

Could an old friend help Boston out on the cheap? One analyst believes so.

The 2022 NBA offseason is starting to wind down as the Boston Celtics and the rest of the league begin to finalize their rosters for the 2022-23 season about to start up with preseason games just a few weeks distant from the present.

But that doesn’t mean that the Celtics (or any team) is done making moves, which has some analysts trying to predict what might (and what should) happen as far potential trades the teams of the NBA ought to be considering. One such analyst is Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, who put together a deal for every team in the league that each ought to, in his estimation, make.

Let’s take a look at what he had in mind for the Celtics.

3 trades Sixers can offer to Jazz to acquire Jordan Clarkson, others

Here are three trades the Philadelphia 76ers can offer to the Utah Jazz to acquire Jordan Clarkson and two others who make sense for them.

It appears that the Utah Jazz are in the middle of a complete fire sale as they have moved both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this offseason as they move toward their new future. They also traded Royce O’Neale at the beginning of the offseason as well.

Therefore, it would make sense for veterans such as Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gay, and Malik Beasley to be available for a deal. Those three make the most sense for the Sixers in a deal due to the idea that the team could always use another ball-handler and more wing players.

Here are three trades the Sixers can make to acquire each player from the Jazz that works for both sides. A special thank you to cap specialist Yossi Gozlan for helping with the logistics of each deal and making sure the money works:

The Spurs paid tribute to NCAA women’s basketball legends with pre-game jerseys

The Spurs showed love to more players than just Becky Hammon.

Before their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday evening, the San Antonio Spurs paid tribute to some of the best players who have ever stepped on the floor during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Especially after the pathetic weight room originally provided to the NCAA women’s teams and all of the other ways the NCAA has failed its women’s tournament, it was refreshing to see such support from such a respected NBA team.

Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray got things started with a hat tip to his assistant coach, Becky Hammon, who is a legend both on and off the floor.

Hammon, who has been an assistant for San Antonio since 2014, was once one of the best college basketball players in the nation. She ran point for the Colorado State Rams from 1995 until 1999, leading her mid-major squad to the Sweet Sixteen.

Spurs veteran DeMar DeRozan entered the arena wearing a Cheryl Miller jersey.

Miller, like DeRozan, played college basketball for the USC Trojans from 1982 until 1986. She won Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year during three consecutive seasons, securing national championships in 1986 and 1987 as well.

Her jersey number, No. 31, is retired by the University of Southern California.

Rudy Gay was rocking a jersey from Rebecca Lobo, who is celebrated as one of the most decorated athletes in the history of UCONN’s prestigious women’s basketball program.

Lobo helped lead the team to an undefeated record and a national title in 1995. It was only the second time that a women’s team ran the table for an entire season.

Of course, NBA veteran guard Patty Mills had to show some love to his wife, former Saint Mary’s wing Alyssa Levesque.

Mills, who is one of many Australian basketball players who have attended Saint Mary’s in California, met Alyssa when they were both in college in the late 2000s.

They were married in July 2019 and reportedly have a pretty cute pre-game coffee routine scheduled for whenever the Spurs play in San Antonio.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01evcfkb10bw5a3nky image=https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=1009833]

[vertical-gallery id=817639]