What do Rudy Gay’s addn brg to the Utah Jazz — and n he help them get better fensively?

Contents:

• REPORT: RUDY GAY AGRE TO TWO-YEAR, $12.1 LN AL WH JAZZ
• RUDY GAY ISN’T EXPECTED BACK SOON, BUT HE TELLS UTAH JAZZ FANS NOT TO BE WORRIED
• WHAT DO THE RUDY GAY SIGNG MEAN FOR THE UTAH JAZZ?
• WHY IS RUDY GAY GETTG MUT FOR THE JAZZ?
• UTAH JAZZ, RUDY GAY AGREE TO 2-YEAR AL NBA EE AGENCY
• THE RUDY GAY NICKNAME DILEMMA
• WHAT DO RUDY GAY’S ADDN BRG TO THE UTAH JAZZ — AND N HE HELP THEM GET BETTER FENSIVELY?
• RUDYGAY
• THE UTAH JAZZ NEED MORE OM RUDY GAY

REPORT: RUDY GAY AGRE TO TWO-YEAR, $12.1 LN AL WH JAZZ

The ensemble st Utah jt got a ltle Gay has reached a two-year, $12. Rudy Gay is signg a two-year, $12.

Gay chose the Jazz over the Lakers, Celtics, and other terted suors, likely large part bee of money and the player optn on the send season. Gay, 35, has spent the last four seasons San Anton and last season averaged 11. (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rudy Gay is terviewed durg Utah Jazz media day at Vivt Arena, Monday, Sept.

27, 2021 Salt Lake ’s both a glass-half-empty way and a glass-half-full way to look at Rudy Gay’s Friday, the Utah Jazz forward mented publicly for the first time on his offseason surgery to repair his right heel, the same surgery that has kept him out of the Jazz’s preason actn so far and will ntue to keep him out through the early part of the regular said that the heel had ed him pa that he’d been “playg wh for a while” — five years, fact. And fally, he cid last season that the pa had gotten to be too much, and he’d unrgo the surgery to rrect both Gay and the team are beg extremely ut about his return, too. So I unrstand people expect me to go out there and play, ” Gay said.

RUDY GAY ISN’T EXPECTED BACK SOON, BUT HE TELLS UTAH JAZZ FANS NOT TO BE WORRIED

”So there’s the glass-half-empty news: Gay don’t know when he’ll return, nor do there seem to be particular urgency the eback. The prry is the playoffs, and the team will sacrifice regular-season mut the the glass-half-full aspect is this: Gay was a pretty solid NBA ntributor over the last five seasons, playg through pa.

WHAT DO THE RUDY GAY SIGNG MEAN FOR THE UTAH JAZZ?

And will some rt the regular season mean Gay plays at a higher level April, May, and June? Optimists out there uld also take some joy Gay’s practice workouts.

Even though he hasn’t been any gam so far, Gay has been part of the team’s shootg ntts, fdg himself groups wh all liber of marksmen, om Rudy Gobert to Joe Friday, his practice also nsisted of some work the post: both srg wh an assistant ach fendg, and learng how the Jazz might move players around him to fd open cutters and short, ’s not that Gay don’t want to be around, or that he’s takg easy. “Oh man, he’s been a great lear for , ” said Mike Conley — who also played wh Gay Memphis. ”The return may not be soon, but Gay isn’t worried how the Jazz will fare his absence.

WHY IS RUDY GAY GETTG MUT FOR THE JAZZ?

“The fact that this team was the number one team the league last year whout me, that giv me a chn, ” Gay said. San Anton Spurs forward Rudy Gay (22) the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 9, 2021, Zalubowski, Associated Prs. Rudy Gay will wear a Jazz uniform after agreeg to a two-year al wh the Jazz on do the 15-year veteran brg to the table and what do the Jazz signg him mean for the rt of the team and the future?

Gay, who turns 35 on Aug.

Standg at 6-foot-8, Gay played the last four seasons wh the San Anton Spurs and has proven to be pable at multiple posns, spendg most of his time playg the stretch four. But, if the Jazz want to play wh a small-ball five, Gay n fill that role easily as well as play some mut at small reer averag of 16. 8 rebounds per game, Gay shot 38.

UTAH JAZZ, RUDY GAY AGREE TO 2-YEAR AL NBA EE AGENCY

Signg Gay was the wrg on the wall for Ge Niang, who later on Tuday agreed to a two-year al wh the Philalphia 76ers. The posnal versatily om Gay would have phed Niang out of the rotatn and Niang, who beme a ee agent after the 2020-21 season, was due for a bump Gay is certaly viewed as an upgra at the forward posn, he’s not a long term fix (nsirg his age and a short ntract), and as soon as next season, the Jazz uld be lookg once aga for answers at that, signed g the taxpayer mid-level exceptn, has seen some of his srg productn fall off recent years, but he still remas a reliable and versatile fenr, which is right le wh what the Jazz he spent the last few years San Anton and Sacramento before that, Gay started his NBA reer wh the Memphis Grizzli after beg selected No. That means that when the Jazz start the 2021-22 season, Gay will be rned wh Mike Conley, whom he played wh for more than five seasons at the begng of both of their reers.

If Gay and Conley n rekdle some of the chemistry they had on the urt while they were Memphis, that would fely be a bon for the Jazz. The Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gay dribbl agast New Orleans Salt Lake Cy on Thursday, Dec. I get this qutn om opposg team beat reporters, om suts and om quirg mds on every is Rudy Gay gettg playg time?

So, I thk ’s time that we exame what’s gog on wh is clear to most people watchg the game that he is not playg like the Rudy Gay of years gone by.

THE RUDY GAY NICKNAME DILEMMA

Even sual fans n see he’s slow fensively, he mak bad cisns on offense and that spe all, he is still gettg mut ahead of Simone Fontecch or Ochai you dig to some of Gay’s dividual stats, don’t help his se much. I thk the explanatn is nuanced and there are many factors that are playg to — and this certaly won’t help you unrstand why Gay is gettg playg time — I’d like to dispel any belief that the Jazz are playg Gay so that they n crease his tra value. Gay is 36 years old and on a $6 ln al wh a player optn for next season.

WHAT DO RUDY GAY’S ADDN BRG TO THE UTAH JAZZ — AND N HE HELP THEM GET BETTER FENSIVELY?

He do not have posive value and the Jazz are well we’re gog to look at thgs purely om a numbers perspective has to be noted that the Jazz explibly play better wh Gay on the urt than they do whout Cleang The Glass, the Jazz have an efficiency differential of +12.

RUDYGAY

9 wh Gay on the urt. 5 pots per 100 posssns better than when Gay is on the bench, which is exceptnal. I n’t expla why or how the Jazz are puttg up those numbers when Gay is on the urt, nsirg his low productn and some of his qutnable cisn-makg on both ends, but is you pair that wh the fact that the Gay is only playg about 15 mut per game, the Jazz are gog to happily live wh the rults, even if don’t look great when ’s there are reasons I believe Gay is playg that go beyond the numbers and beyond the season, Qu Snyr benched Gay and the veteran player was not pleased.

On media day this season he likened to the reporters g to the terview room and not beg able to ask qutns, not beg allowed to do their realy would be more like a reporter dog a bad job and then beg moted for someone who was dog a better job, but that’s not how Gay saw thgs. Multiple sourc wh knowledge of the tone and tenor of the Jazz locker room last season have said that Gay’s displeasure wh the suatn add to the tensn that was already stewg. This season, Will Hardy, who has known Gay for a long time due to their San Anton nnectn, has given Gay a small role on the team and has said multiple tim that he has relied on Gay not only as a soundg board but also as a veteran to help gui the young players on the team.

And, om all acunts om the young players on the Jazz roster, Gay has been credible.

THE UTAH JAZZ NEED MORE OM RUDY GAY

He’s been helpful, has offered advice, directn and, if you’re gettg veteran mentorship, a reliable source of wisdom and all you have to give up for that is 12-15 mut a night and a uple of bad shots, ’s a pretty good al, pecially when those mut aren’t directly ntributg to losg and when you look at what uld hypothetilly happen if you cid to go another Hardy cid to pletely bench Gay to play Fontecch or Agbaji, Gay might react the same way that he did when Snyr moted him. I believe that Hardy is probably dog Gay a solid exchange for beg a good soldier and so long as he do that, there’s no reason not to give him some playg urse, this n’t last forever. The Jazz are eventually gog to have to move on om Gay, whether that means cludg him a tra before the Feb.