Miami Heat to Pursue Rudy Gay After Missing Out on Gordon Hayward
Now that Gordon Hayward is off the market, it's time for teams like the Miami Heat to move on and enact "Plan B."
According to ESPN's Royce Young, the Heat are likely to pursue Rudy Gay if Hayward is no longer available, and the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds said the free agent forward is interested in playing in Miami as well.
Miami Herald's Barry Jackson has also reported that the Heat may turn their attention to Gay.
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"Gay has a home in Miami and has long had great interest in the Heat, according to a source. He has spoken with several teams, including Oklahoma City and Golden State, but hasn't committed anywhere and likely would be receptive to Heat interest," Jackson wrote in his report.
Young said Gay prefers to join the Thunder, but there is reportedly a sizeable difference between what the Thunder can offer and the salary Gay is seeking. The Thunder have already signed Patrick Patterson to a three-year, $16.4 million contract since the report came out, and the Warriors have also signed Nick Young to a one-year, $5.2 million deal. That means Gay's options are dwindling.
Gay has a reputation as an inefficient scorer, so it will be interesting to see how much teams are offering for his services.
A lot of observers were baffled when he decided to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Sacramento Kings. He would have earned $14.2 million next season if he stayed with the club. Now he would have to convince teams that he's worth around that much despite the fact that he's coming off coming off an Achilles injury.
In other news, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that Dion Waiters has agreed to sign a four-year, $52-million deal to stay with the Heat. Forward James Johnson is also expected to re-sign with the team, per Reynolds.
