NBA trade rumors 2016: Sacramento Kings' Rudy Gay in trade talks with Houston Rockets
Rudy Gay's contract with the Sacramento Kings is about to expire next summer. It is expected that he will exercise his player option to get out from Sacramento once he becomes a free agent. With this realization, the Kings are currently in talks with Houston Rockets for a possible trade.
Sacramento is in dire prospects of coming up with a better roster before the start of the 2016–17 season. While the 30-team National Basketball Association is still in the offseason, the Kings management is reportedly busy pumping their lineup with new blood.
As reported by Sportsrageous, the Sacramento front office is trying to acquire Houston's future draft pick Trevor Ariza including shooting guards Corey Brewer and K.J. McDaniels by trading their 6-foot-8 small forward in return. Currently, the Kings aren't considered as strong contenders for the playoffs so their gameplan is most likely about nurturing a young roster of hardcourt talents.
The Rockets, too, are rebuilding their roster following Dwight Howard's departure from Houston to Atlanta Hawks via free agency. Basketball pundits, however, think that Houston will have a better chance with their offense without him especially with his high-profile locker room tension with Rockets star player James Harden.
Gay's addition to Houston's starting lineup could boost the team's frontcourt gameplay alongside Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela, and Nene Hilario. Also, Houston's new coach Mike D'Antoni sees a fitting role for Gay in the team's uber-fast and offense-oriented gameplay. Gay's offensive and scoring skills could complement Ariza's, the Inquisitr reported.
Meanwhile, Gay has long expressed his desire to jump off ship to Miami Heat. However, trading him to Miami would not result to anything productive for Sacramento given the former's lack of assets with reasonable trade value. Moreover, a trade with Heat's Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside, or Goran Dragic would be an unlikely trade match for Gay, CBS Sports reported.