KINGS REEL IN RUDY GAY FROM RAPTORS IN 7-PLAYER SWAP
The Sacramento Kings acquired small forward Rudy Gay, center Aaron Gray, and combo forward Quincy Acy from the Toronto Raptors for point guard Greivis Vasquez, power forwards Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes, and small forward John Salmons.
What does it give the Sacramento Kings
The Kings seem intent on becoming both more athletic and a playoff contender as soon as possible, and bringing in Gay will help them with that. He immediately gives Sacto a go-to star perimeter scorer who can take pressure off rising star center {P DeMarcus Cousins}. Moreover, Gay may be a better on-court fit with the Kings than he was with the Raptors since he's struggling to get to the basket and seems more comfortable on the perimeter. Gay's arrival lets {P Derrick Williams} shift from small forward to his more natural power forward spot. In terms of money, if Gay doesn't pan out then the Kings can let him (and his massive salary) leave after next season.
What does it give the Toronto Raptors
New Toronto GM Masai Ujiri now seems focused on rebuilding with youth, and trading Gay is a major move in that direction. None of the players he receives here for Gay, Gray, and Acy seem to be key long-term building blocks (except maybe Vasquez). Both Vasquez and Patterson have affordable contracts that expire after this season, and neither Salmons nor Hayes (whose deals are up after next season) project as rotation regulars. Clearly Toronto is clearing cap space for the ongoing overhaul, with young center {P Jonas Valanciunas} now clearly the guy the Raps are building around.
Fantasy impact
The biggest fantasy beneficiary of this swap is Kings PG {P Isaiah Thomas}. He immediately gets to step back into a starting role and he should play major minutes and produce star-level stats from now on. The fantasy values of Gay and Williams don't change much, since the inconsistent Williams will now have to compete for minutes at PF with {P Jason Thompson}, and Gay will likely keep seeing his high volume of shots (and it's tough to see his awful FG% improving much since he'll probably be even more perimeter-focused now). Thompson's fantasy fortunes sink even lower, however. On the Raptor side of this deal, with Gay gone look for SF {P Landry Fields} and SG {P Terrence Ross} to compete for starts now, with both seeing a boost in value. If Ross becomes the starter look for {P DeMar DeRozan} to play more small forward. Vasquez probably won't see an uptick in his disappointing production since he's now stuck behind entrenched starters {P Kyle Lowry} (at PG) and DeRozan (at SG). Patterson might manage a small improvement in numbers if he can push {P Amir Johnson} and {P Tyler Hansbrough} at PF, but he's just as likely to back up Valanciunas at center. Salmons and Hayes seem unlikely to benefit from the change of scenery.
