When I got into the league, it was about winning first. But when you’ve played this long, when does the winning start to overtake the financial aspect of all of this? Wright: You’ve been around a long time, and you talked about winning earlier. Strange just means people aren’t scared to show how they feel, what they want. I don’t see myself as having a problem in that locker room. Gay: (Laughs) Eclectic? I don’t know, man. What type of guy are you off the court, because you’ll be coming into a locker room that I’d describe as being very eclectic, maybe even strange? But I don’t think any of this matters without me being healthy. Gay: I have a kinesiologist I’ve been working with that’s in Austin. Wright: You took all of your free-agent meetings in Austin. But I do honestly think the Warriors were just on another level this year. Who knows what would have happened? They would have made a better fight. Obviously, this year, a couple of injuries came into play. This is a team that’s traditionally great. Wright: Did you get a chance to watch the Spurs during the playoffs? If so, what did you think? You have your teams like Golden State, Houston, who all have guys that are switchable. The more guys that can play different positions, the better. Wright: From your conversations with Popovich, is there a certain role you and the team envision?
I think I can show that here in San Antonio. But I think there’s a lot more to my game. Gay: Who knows (laughs)? As you said: I’ve been known to get buckets, and I’ve had that stigma of just being a scorer.
And if anybody knows how to do that, it would be Gregg Popovich. So obviously, I want to take my game to another level. But when a team wants to sign you, and you sign with a team, they have their own vision for you. Gay: I’ve talked to, and we’ve had a couple of conversations. Wright: It has been proved over the course of your career that you can get buckets, but in your mind, how does that fit in with San Antonio’s style of play? Coming to a place like San Antonio, it just seemed perfect for me. I’ve been in this league for a little while now, and I haven’t gotten out of my career what I wanted. Gay: Looking at my career, it’s just time to win.
Wright: So, why opt out of $14.2 million to come to San Antonio as a free agent for a little more than half of that for the 2017-18 season? The team, it has its own planning with me. Gay spent some time with to discuss his rehabilitation process from a torn left Achilles tendon, what he brings to the Spurs, and why he opted out of a $14.2 million contract in Sacramento for the 2016-17 to take $8.4 million in San Antonio: SAN ANTONIO - Having spent time in Memphis, Toronto and Sacramento during an 11-year NBA career, new San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay views this latest opportunity as his first shot to contend perennially for titles. Title tops Rudy Gay's San Antonio bucket list
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The 6-foot-8, 230-pounder also proved last season that he had recovered from the season-ending Achilles tendon tear that he suffered during his 2016-17 campaign with the Sacramento Kings. The 12-year NBA veteran averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds last season in his first season with the Spurs in a career-low 21.6 minutes per game. On June 14, Gay opted out of the final year of his contact with the Spurs that paid $8.8 million. Yahoo! Sports first reported Gay's new deal. The Belinelli contract will hard cap the Spurs at $129 million, based on the guard's using more than the $5.3 million midlevel exception. With Belinelli and Gay, the Spurs project to have $107 million in committed salary, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. He played a combined 80 games for Atlanta and Philadelphia last season, averaging a career-high 21.1 points per game. San Antonio will also bring in Marco Belinelli, who agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the team, a league source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.īelinelli returns to San Antonio after playing a couple seasons for the Spurs between 20. The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to re-sign forward Rudy Gay to a one-year, $10 million contract, a source told ESPN's The Undefeated. Sources: Spurs to re-sign Rudy Gay Marco Belinelli to get two-year deal You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser