This comment is probably going to shock you, but it really shouldn't:
Rudy Gay remains unsure if he will pick up his $19.3 million player option for next season. Speaking with ESPN on Wednesday, Gay was asked about the decision:
"I'm not sure. I have to go into the summer with my people, think about everything, weigh out the pros and cons. I don't know yet. But Sacramento's been great to me thus far. Obviously I'm trying to tune it all out right now. All I can think about right now is how great Sacramento's been to me."
Gay, who earns $17.9 million this season, can walk away from that appreciable sum this summer, opting instead to become an unrestricted free agent. It seems crazy, to a normal person, to think of declining that kind of money, but there is both precedent and rationale for such a move.
However, it was considered unlikely enough that it was a key reason the Toronto Raptors wanted to move Gay. A $19.3 million "maybe" on the books makes long-term planning incredibly difficult, and Gay's play before the trade more or less confirmed he would pick up the option.
Since debuting with the Sacramento Kings, however, Gay's performance has improved significantly. Should he keep it up the rest of the season, the market for his services would expand.
And there's precedent here, as mentioned: Andrew Iguodala opted out of a large guaranteed sum in order to sign a four-year, $48 million deal and Monta Ellis did the same to grab a three-year, $25 million pay day.
The reasoning, in short, is this: If Gay can get, say, four years and $36 million, as a ballpark figure, that might be enough to get him to opt out. $19.3 million is a lot of money for one year, but a lot can happen in a year and $36 million is a lot more money. It's guaranteed income against a higher one-year salary with a lot of uncertainty.
Luckily, we'll never have to make such a decision. We're truly blessed, in that sense.
