Bulls reportedly interested in free agent Rudy Gay |
Despite being put in salary cap hell to begin the offseason, you have to give the Bulls front office a ton of credit for what they have been able to do. Not only did they retain Nikola Vucevic and Coby White on three-year deals, but they found a way to sign Ayo Dosunmu to a three-year deal after it looked like he was on the way out.
You also had Andre Drummond pick up his player option while adding significant perimeter help from Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig as free-agent pickups; the Bulls not only looked like they were willing to run it back with their roster but also improved it in the process. Guys like Javonte Green and Derrick Jones Jr have not returned, and Lonzo Ball is out again, but the Bulls have done what they could given their limited financial flexibility. With that being said, there are still rumors about the Bulls making some moves, and the most recent run comes as a bit of a surprise as the Bulls are listed as one of the front runners to land Rudy Gay in free agency. With two spots left to fill and Jevon Freeman-Liberty now in Toronto, the Bulls could fill those spots one of three ways. 1. Bring in a guy like Carlik Jones on a guaranteed deal after he earned G-League MVP last season. 2. Sign a guy like Christian Wood for a much-needed scoring punch and figure out how to incorporate him into your lineup. 3. Get one or two veteran leaders and ink them to a veteran's minimum deal. That is where Gay comes into play as he is not only a 16-year NBA veteran but one who is 36 years old and nearing the end of a very good career. The Bulls are not alone in looking to acquire Gay, as the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Lakers are the teams the most heavily invested in him. Once one of the more highly coveted forwards in this league, Gay has spent the previous two seasons with the Utah Jazz, appearing in 111 of a possible 164 games. Gay also logged just shy of 20 minutes during the past two seasons and came away with 6.7 points with 3.6 rebounds. Those may be low numbers, but given his age and current roles with the teams he signs with, that is what you can expect from him. There was a point in Gay's career where he was one of the more underrated players in the game. From 2007-2017, Gay was a guy capable of giving you 20 PPG while also adding 6 RPG and 3 APG. That helped him reach several all-star games, and he was one of the more consistent players in the league for over a decade. You could argue that his best season came with the Sacramento Kings in 2014 when he averaged a career-high 21.1 PPG to go with 6.9 RPG. Following the 2016-17 season, where he averaged 18.7 PPG, Gay has seen his production take a significant as he hasn't averaged more than 13.7 PPG since. That includes 8.1 PPG and 5.2 PPG in his past two seasons, as the best days are long gone for Gay. While he may not be the player he once was and, for that matter, a player who sees minimal time on the court, Gay is still a nice piece to have on your team for several reasons. For starters, he gives any team the veteran presence and locker room leader, which is often overlooked as players and coaches respect him. They know how valuable his opinions are in the game, and anyone who doesn't listen to him is foolish. Second, Gay has accepted that he is no longer a star player and will never argue the role he is given. He understands he is at the end of his career and knows exactly what role he plays with any team he signs with. Finally, Gay will not cost you a ton of money, as the Bulls will be able to add him and still have some money left over. With players like Jones, Green, and Jones Jr still left unsigned and it becoming more likely that all of them won't be back, Gay would be a nice replacement for anyone of those guys as long as he can stay on the court and give you consistently 15-20 minutes.
