Achilles injuries alter NBA careers. They can even ruin them. So when Rudy Gay suffered his in the middle of January, the outlook seemed bleak. He’s on the wrong side of 30, and so much of his game is predicated on creating his own offense, something he might struggle to do upon return.
Neither he nor the Sacramento Kings seem too worried about that now, though. The team says he’s making “tremendous progress” in his recovery. A video and photo were tweeted out to prove it:
Rudy Gay putting in work @SacramentoKings Sport Performance Lab pic.twitter.com/8K2NnZ4PES
— Manuel G Romero PhD (@mgromerophd) April 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/_petethetrainer/status/851562446787493888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fkings%2Fblog%2Fkings-rudy-achilles-recovery%2F
This is interesting, because Gay may not even be a member of the Kings next year. He has a player option, and it’s not yet clear if this injury will prompt him to opt in.
Sure, Gay could stay with the Kings in hopes their rebuild provides him ample opportunity to pad his stats in advance of free agency in 2018. But that’s assuming they give him enough minutes, in addition to assuming he’s healthy enough.
Opting out and trying to secure more over the life of his next deal than the $14.3 million he’s slated to make in 2017-18 is still an appealing option. Gay showed immense improvement as a spot-up shooter before going down; more of his field-goal attempts were coming off the catch compared to seasons past. That allows him to take on complementary duties, which in turn renders him a better fit almost anywhere.
Still, Achilles injuries are serious. Even if Gay’s spot-up shooting remains fine, he still has to defend, and there’s no telling whether he’ll have the lateral gait necessary to hang opposing 3s and 4s.
Hence why his situation is so complicated and, as far as we know, unresolved.
