In the wake of Kevin Durant’s abrupt departure from USA Basketball, the national program has added Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay to its group of finalists for the 2014 FIBA World Cup squad.
Gay was a member of the 2010 FIBA Championships team that won gold. He averaged seven points and three rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game for the Americans, ably playing the role of nominal power forward so crucial in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s system – and left without its top candidates due to the absence of Durant and Paul George.
USAB chairman Jerry Colangelo says that Gay’s experience with the national team was a contributing factor to his addition. Also of note is that Gay called Colangelo last night to offer his services in the aftermath of Durant’s announcement.
“We both felt he would be a valuable addition because of his outstanding skills and the fact that he is so familiar with USA Basketball and our national team program,” Colangelo said Friday in a statement. “Rudy has been an integral member of USA Basketball since 2005 and was a tremendous contributor to our 2010 world championship team. He has a lot of equity in the USA Basketball national team.”
Gay, the Sacramento Kings forward, appeared in all nine games for the Americans in the 2010 world championship, averaging 7.0 points off the bench. He also was one of the last cuts made by the 2012 Olympic team.
Gay quietly played arguably the best basketball of his career in 2013-2014 after being traded from the Toronto Raptors to Sacramento in early December. He averaged 20.2 points per game on 48.2 percent shooting for the Kings last season, notching a career-best 56.7 percent true shooting mark – a stat that incorporates two-points, three-point shots, and free throws – in the process. The awful efficiency that plagued Gay throughout the past few years, basically, was non-existent with Sacramento.
His wholesale improvement post-trade surely was a factor in Colangelo’s decision to bring him aboard, but of greater influence was likely his past play for Team USA. Gay was the long, athletic, two-way force his natural gifts suggest for the Americans in 2010, sharing the ball and committing defensively in ways he hasn’t since.
Coach K and company are no doubt hoping Gay can replicate that performance this time around. The most likely replacements for Durant and George – Chandler Parsons, DeMar DeRozan, and Gordon Hayward – can capably approximate some of the traits that make the departed duo so valuable. Flaws and all, however, Gay is the player among this b-team quartet who offers the broadest range of skills – no matter how fleeting they often are.
Gay’s chances of making the 12-man World Cup roster are unknown, but it’s safe to say Colangelo wouldn’t have accepted his advance if USAB wasn’t taking Gay’s inclusion seriously. It certainly seems possible he could be representing his country in Spain later this month, irrespective of whether or not Parsons, DeRozan, or Hayward make the team. The absence of Durant leaves Team USA thin enough that there could be room for Gay even if his apparent competition is named to the final roster, too.
Does Gay have a legitimate chance to make Team USA?
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