Sacramento, finally, appears to be going into rebuilding mode. The entire Ranadive-era, and by extension the Vlade Divac-era that followed, has been marked with disastrous moves that turned out exactly how most predicted. Or that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive can’t do better. This isn’t to say Divac can’t do better in his communication with his would-be starters. The guys that don’t make the All-Star team but still average 17.2 points per game on 14.4 shots per game on a 33-win team, like Rudy, aren’t really tall enough to ride that loopty-loop. DeMarcus Cousins, despite some draft night (alleged! He may have been at hot yoga!) misgivings, will be in the loop. Rumors that intensified earlier this offseason when it was reported that the Kings were determined to deal both Rudy and center Kosta Koufos. Divac, in this instance, is basically telling Rudy Gay that he has no reason to reach out about the myriad trade rumors that have swirled around Gay since last winter.
Players like Rudy Gay, as we saw when Larry Bird let starting point man George Hill know about his trade away from Indiana via voicemail, aren’t usually the ones linked in on every would-be trade possibility that passes by. That’s where you get into the frustrating part. Obviously, if I didn’t call him, we didn’t do anything.”
