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Spurs F Rudy Gay declines player option, according to reports

ESPN reports that San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay has declined his player option and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

SAN ANTONIO — After missing more than half of the 2016-17 NBA season with a career-threatening Achilles injury, Rudy Gay opted out of the last year of his contract with the Sacramento Kings last summer to make a fresh start with the Spurs.

As it turns out, Gay will be leaving the Silver and Black after only one season. He has opted out of the second year of the contract he signed with San Antonio last year, turning down a salary of $8.8 million to become an unrestricted free agent.

Spurs guard Danny Green, who has a $10 million player option on his contract, also could test the free-agent market if he opts out.

One of the league’s most productive small forwards before getting hurt, Gay started the 2017-18 season with high expectations. After all, what better team to jump-start a career with than the Spurs, one of the most stable and successful pro sports franchises the past two decades, right?

Unfortunately for Gay, things didn’t quite go according to script. Signed by the Spurs as a free agent to back up All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard and give them another scoring threat at the wing, Gay was slowed by injury again last season.

Playing in 57 games, Gay averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds and a career-low 21.6 minutes. His scoring and rebounding averages were the lowest of his career since his rookie year.

Gay played in only five games with Leonard, who was limited to nine games in the regular season by a quadriceps injury. Leonard missed all five of the Spurs’ playoff games.

Gay missed 23 games with a heel injury before returning to action in a road game against Denver on Feb. 23. He played in all five of the Spurs’ playoff games, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 32 minutes. The postseason series against the champion Golden State Warriors was only the second in Gay’s 12-year career.

Going into last season, Gay was one of three NBA players (LeBron James and Russell Westbrook) with at least 13,000 points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,000 steals.

Gay, who turns 32 on Aug. 17, played two seasons at Connecticut before turning pro in 2006.

Selected by the Houston Rockets with the No. 8 overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft, Gay was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies a few weeks later. He has averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists during his NBA career.

One of the league’s best scorers at small forward, Gay averaged 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30 games for Sacramento before going down with the Achilles injury on Jan. 18, 2017.

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