Sometimes a change of scenery is needed for a player that is not playing up to his potential. The fresh start in new surroundings can do wonders for a player's psyche. The latest example of this is the rejuvinated play of seven-year veteran swingman Rudy Gay.
Gay had become a much maligned player in recent seasons due to his erratic shooting and lack of cohesion. This reputation first started with the Memphis Grizzlies where he spent his first five seasons in the NBA and later with the Toronto Raptors, the team that he was traded to during the 2012-13 season.
In Memphis, for one reason or another, chemistry could not be found between Gay and power forward Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies actually got further in the playoffs without Rudy Gay than with him. In the 2010-11 season, Memphis made it to the Western Conference Semifinals without Gay. In the 2012-13 season, which incidently is the same season Gay was traded to the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Sandwiched in between those two seasons was the 2011-12 season. In that season Gay played in the playoffs and Memphis was eliminated in the first round.
Those results prompted a lot of Memphis Grizzlies fans, and NBA fans as a whole, to think that Gay was a hinderance for the Memphis Grizzlies. It also did not help that Gay was averaging 17.2 ppg and shooting 40.8% from the field in a season where he was due for a big payday of over $16 million. With such a lack of production at such a huge asking price, it was time for Memphis to cut ties with Rudy Gay. Thus the trade to Toronto.
Rudy Gay's time in Toronto was short lived. He only played 32 games with the Raptors in the 2012-13 season, and 18 games with them this season. In the 18 games that Gay played this year in Toronto, Gay averaged 19.4 ppg on a meager 38.8% shooting. Gay seemed to be a hinderance to the growth of the Raptors, and in particular, fifth year guard Demar DeRozan.
That is when the Sacramento Kings came calling. The Kings needed to shake things up for their team, so they put together a deal to get the beleaguered forward. On Dec 9th of last year the Kings sent Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes to the Raptors for the services of Rudy Gay. The Kings also received Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy in the deal.
The deal got mixed reactions from NBA fans. A lot of them felt that the Kings were out of their minds to trade for a player that was showing a steady decline and could be a possible chemistry killer for the team. There were also a segment of fans that felt the Kings had made a good deal. They felt that if Rudy Gay could some how find the form that had many considering him one of the best young wing players in the game, the Kings would have a solid, athletic, perimeter scorer on their roster.
So far the results have been looking pretty good for the Kings. In 14 games since coming to Sacramento, Gay seems to have found his groove averaging 20.6 ppg on 51.4% shooting from the field. A nice chemistry seems to have developed between Rudy Gay and young stud center DeMarcus Cousins, something that fans thought was going to be a huge problem when this trade went through. With Gay and Cousins, the Kings have the potential for one of the most potent inside/outside tandems in the NBA.
The reason for the resurgence of Gay has a lot to do with simply having a fresh start in a new environment. Sometimes that is all it takes. With Gay playing like he can breath again, and the Kings starting a new chapter with new ownership and the prospects of a new arena being built for the team on the horizon, Gay could be part of a Sacramento Kings renaissance. Rudy Gay seems to be getting his groove back in the right place, at the right time.
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