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Thunder waive veteran forward Rudy Gay

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated28 Sep 2023

Oklahoma City Thunder waive veteran forward Rudy Gay

The Oklahoma City Thunder have waived forward Rudy Gay, according to sources. Gay, 36, was selected eighth overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2006 NBA Draft out of UConn. The former Huskie was then immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Gay spent seven seasons (2006-13) with Memphis, one with the Toronto Raptors (2013-14 season), four with the Sacramento Kings (2013-17), four with the San Antonio Spurs (2017-21), and the past two with the Utah Jazz. On Jul. 7, Utah traded Gay and a 2026 second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for John Collins.

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On Jul. 12, the Hawks traded Rudy Gay, Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington, and a 2026 second-round draft pick to the Thunder for Patty Mills. The 2026 second-rounder is Memphis owned.

In June, Gay exercised his $6.48 million player option with the Jazz for the 2023-24 season prior to his trade. This is part of the two-year, $18.55 million contract he signed with Utah in August 2021.

Oklahoma City Thunder waive veteran forward Rudy Gay, leave behind $6.48 million in dead cap

Since the Thunder waived Gay, the club is leaving behind $6.48 million in dead cap. NBA players who have been released or served 10-day contracts all count against a team’s total cap/cap allocations. Gay’s 2023-24 cap figure consumes approximately 4.33% of OKC’s salary cap.

In 56 games off the bench with the Jazz in the 2022-23 season, Gay averaged career lows of 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 14.6 minutes per game while shooting 38% from the floor and 25.4% beyond the arc, also career-low percentages.

Furthermore, in Utah’s 123-102 season-opener win over the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 19, the 17-year veteran recorded a season-high 16 points, two assists, and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-8 forward shot 6-of-8 (75%) from the field and drained four 3-pointers.


Throughout the 2022-23 season, the Jazz logged an efficiency differential of +12.9 with Gay on the court, per Cleaning The Glass. This means Utah averaged 15.5 points per 100 possessions better than when Gay was on the bench.

Lauri Markkanen, the NBA Most Improved Player Award recipient, gave the Jazz a +4.7-efficiency differential. That statistic equates to +11.7 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.

Now that the Thunder have waived Gay, the team is expected to sign former Nuggets forward Jack White.

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