Rudy Gay has been waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Former Utah Jazz forward, Rudy Gay, has been waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. It was a move that few didn’t see coming at some point. Gay, who is 36, spent the last two years playing for the Jazz, where he played over 100 games during his time with Utah. The Jazz traded Gay on July 7, 2023, to the Atlanta Hawks, alongside a second-round pick, for John Collins.
Despite Gay’s lack of offensive impact during his time in Utah, he still improved the team a lot by allowing the Jazz to acquire Collins. Shortly after the deal, however, the Hawks traded Gay, TyTy Washington, Usman Garuba, and a 2026 2nd-round pick to the Thunder for point guard Patty Mills.
Mills, himself, just arrived in Oklahoma City by way of the Houston Rockets, via the Brooklyn Nets. That’s right, he’s been on four teams this offseason alone.
Gay’s time in Utah could be described as an aging vet who gave it his all, especially when he thought the team was going to compete for the title. Remember, Gay’s arrival coincided with the last year that Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and Bojan Bogdanovic were here.
So now that Gay is once again on the market, where could the former Jazz player go?
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Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors would likely be a bench role for Gay, where he’ll play 20-30 games, averaging about 10 minutes per. If he can show he still has a three-point shot, he can provide some instant offense, sort of like how Ray Allen and Kyle Korver just became corner shooters at the end of their careers. There are a lot of rumors about Gay going to Golden State, and he may very well sign with them by the time you read this.
Dallas Mavericks
Of all the places that need scorers, the Mavericks are one of those teams. The team has two great go-getters in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but the team needs some shooting dept at the wings. Gay would likely see a lot of action in Dallas, at least comparatively.
Miami Heat
Arguably the team that may need Gay the most is the Miami Heat. If they do, somehow, land Damian Lillard, they’ll likely have to give up every spare player they have that isn’t Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo. Which means no Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Caleb Martin. The Heat would need someone like Gay to come in, shoot threes and try and play some sort of defense at his age. He wouldn’t be a starter but if he can get his shot to fall, he may be good enough to come off the bench and play close to 20 minutes.