17-Year Veteran Waived After Being Traded Twice This Summer

It's certainly been a humbling summer for the former 20 PPG scorer. 17-year NBA veteran Rudy Gay has been waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder after being acquired earlier this month. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived Rudy Gay, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2023

Gay was traded twice this offseason; first, the Utah Jazz shipped him to the Atlanta Hawks in the John Collins trade in late June, and two weeks later the Hawks sent him to Oklahoma City in what was merely a salary dump. Now the Thunder have sent Gay into the free agent market. He had a $6.48M contact for the upcoming season. 

An ignominious summer for the soon-to-be 37-year-old, who for 10 straight seasons earlier in his career averaged no less than 17 points per game, and twice cracked the 20 PPG mark. Some call him one of the best players to never be named an All-Star. 

Last season with the Jazz, he was reduced to just 56 games played, at 14 minutes per contest, averaging 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds. 

Just two seasons ago, he averaged 11.4 points off the bench for the Sacramento Kings, while shooting over 38% from long range. As a free agent once he clears waivers, Gay could still land himself another gig with an NBA team. 

Photo: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports