Getty Rudy Gay
On Monday, Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. hinted that they are bringing more veterans to the training camp after rejecting former eight-time All-Star center Dwight Howard.
It turned out one of them was 17-year veteran Rudy Gay.
Gay, 37, has agreed to a one-year deal with the Warriors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday.
“We’re bringing in a mix of different players that we think can do some different things, and we’ll evaluate in camp, but I don’t think we have our sights set on any one thing right now in terms of a guard, a big, a wing, a young player, an old player,” Dunleavy said during Monday’s press conference ahead of next week’s training camp. “We’re kind of open, and I think that’s a great position to be in where we have flexibility and can kind of evaluate to see what’s the best for our team.”
Gay will compete for one of the two remaining Warriors’ roster spots against other wings in the mix — 32-year-old Rodney McGruder and their 22-year-old two-way player Lester Quiñones.
Gay, a former first-round pick, played for the Utah Jazz over the last two seasons. He was traded in the offseason twice to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the John Collins package, and then to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Patty Mills. The Thunder waived him in July, paving the way for the Warriors to sign him as a free agent.
Gay averaged 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his first 17 seasons. Last season, he appeared in 56 games for the Jazz, putting up respectable numbers: 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 14.6 minutes off the bench. He is a 34.6% career 3-point shooter.
Why Dwight Howard Did Not Make Warriors Cut
The Warriors passed up on signing Howard since they felt they already had enough bigs in their current roster.
“We’ve got five guys that can play center in training camp,” Dunleavy said on Monday. “To me, it’s a position that you can’t play multiple of them. So, I want to make sure everybody gets enough reps, and I think that’s been our discussion with the coaching staff as well, and I think that’s the path we’ll head down from there again.”
The Warriors will rotate Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and Dario Saric at center, with rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis and Usman Garuba as insurance depth.
Steve Kerr Opens Up About Contract Extension
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is comfortable coaching the Warriors even without long-term security. Negotiation for a contract extension is underway as he enters the final season of his current pact with the team.
“I feel great about my position here, and I wanna be here,” Kerr said, per video from Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I know [GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.] and [owner Joe Lacob] want me here, so I’m very confident something will get done. But I’m not stressed about it all. And I’m perfectly capable whether I have one year left or an extension, it makes no difference. But I fully expect to be here.”
Kerr, who piloted the Warriors to four championships since 2015, is expected to remain with the team beyond next season.