Recent Rudy Gay report could spell good news for Utah Jazz in more ways than one

Rudy Gay has opted out of the final year of his contract and could have interest in joining the Miami Heat, a team which has been linked to Utah Jazz All-Star Gordon Hayward.

Although the Utah Jazz’s primary objective this offseason will be to retain their All-Star Gordon Hayward, it never hurts to have a fall back plan. Although no realistically available player would be able to entirely fill the void left by Hayward if he were to depart this summer, there are some formidable options to replace him in free agency if it were to come to that.

Fellow The J Notes contributor Ryan Aston and I both recently took a look at some free agent options that the Jazz could consider this offseason, with Ryan looking specifically at the imperfect candidates to replace Hayward while I looked at replacements for each of Utah’s impending free agents. While we both had a slightly different view on his potential with the Jazz, each of our lists included Rudy Gay.

Obviously Rudy Gay would not be an optimal solution to replace Hayward, but there’s few other options that would be much better. And while it was already widely presumed that such would be the case, it was reported on Monday that Gay has exercised his player option to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Sacramento Kings to officially become a free agent, meaning that the Jazz will indeed have a shot to pursue him in free agency.

This obviously isn’t a shocker by any means and it’s still far from a guarantee that Gay would have any interest in signing with the Jazz, but it’s nice to know that if the worst should happen and Hayward departs, the Jazz will at least have one viable replacement option.

However, that’s far from the best news that has surfaced relating to Rudy Gay declining his player option. In fact, the best news has to do with the fact that Gay may very well not look to sign with the Jazz at all. Then how is that good news, you ask? Because apparently he has his eyes set on one of the supposed front runners to land Gordon Hayward – the Miami Heat.

Wes Goldberg from All U Can Heat recently made mention of Gay’s former interest in joining the Heat and pointed out how he could potentially be a good fit in Miami. While I suppose that the Heat could try to really make a splash and add both Gay and Hayward, it seems like the addition of Gay would more than likely shut the doors on acquiring Hayward, both from a basketball fit and financial standpoint.

Of course, Gay might very well have his eyes on Miami, but the Heat could potentially have little interest in him whatsoever. To be perfectly honest, the Heat would be absolutely insane to pin Gay as a higher priority than Hayward.

Nevertheless, the fact that the seed is planted about a potential connection between Gay and the Heat could help calm some of the noise surrounding Gordon Hayward’s supposed interest in Miami. It’s very early to make any kind of accurate assumption as to what teams and players are thinking, but amidst all the rumors suggesting Hayward will leave, it’s nice to have one that at least hints at one suitor potentially being crossed off his list.

Still, even if Miami fails to woo Hayward, plenty of other suitors, most notably the Boston Celtics, will be lining up at the door to try and earn his services. In other words, while this recent Rudy Gay development could possibly provide a small shred of good news, the Utah Jazz’s future – regarding Hayward or his potential replacement – is still far from certain.

More from The J-Notes

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

However, with the countdown leading up to the start of free agency nearing the two-week mark, it won’t be long before that picture becomes abundantly clear.

And hopefully that clarity turns out to be a good thing…