San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
As usual, Gay will put team first in Orlando
Rudy Gay is willing to step out of his comfort zone again for the good of the Spurs, and it’s making an impression on his younger teammates.
“He’s a pro,” Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray said of the 14th-year forward. “Great respect for him.”
With the Spurs’ frontcourt depleted after LaMarcus Aldridge’s shoulder surgery and Trey Lyles’ appendectomy, Gay knows coach Gregg Popovich could ask him to log some minutes at center when the NBA season resumes at the bubble in Orlando.
If it happens, Gay will be ready for the challenge just as he has been in the past.
“It’s basketball,” he said. “You want to be on the floor and you want to help the team. Ideally, I don’t think I’m a natural five man. I don’t think anybody would agree I’m a five man. But if it helps the team, I’ll do it.”
The 6-foot-8 Gay is no stranger to this situation. When injuries sidelined Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl in late February and March, Gay filled in at backup center for the final six games before the NBA suspended play March 11 because of the pandemic.
“He’s done the best job he can,” Popovich said of Gay in March. “It’s tough when he’s going against 7-footers, but he’s giving it every effort.”
This time around, Poeltl is available after recovering from a knee injury. For backup minutes, Popovich also could turn to second-year pro Drew Eubanks and journeyman Tyler Zeller, who signed last month after the Spurs announced Aldridge wouldn’t be available in Orlando.
But Gay has made clear he wants playing time in Orlando any way he can get it.
“I didn’t train (during the hiatus) with the intent to not play,” said Gay, who turns 34 on Aug. 17 and is signed through the 2020-21 season.
But it’s also possible Gay, who is averaging a career-low 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds, could continue in his usual role after Popovich said last week his main focus in Orlando will be on developing younger players.
The odds appear stacked against the Spurs landing an NBA-record 23rd consecutive playoff berth. They are 12th in the Western Conference, four games behind eighth-place Memphis.
“I’m not too concerned with trying to figure out how to match up with the Lakers or Clippers or Celtics or Raptors or Rockets or Nuggets or anybody else,” Popovich said.
Popovich’s rotation for the restart in Florida could come into focus this week as the Spurs play two of their three scheduled scrimmages — Thursday against Milwaukee and Saturday vs. Brooklyn — before the season resumes July 31 against Sacramento.
The Spurs’ final scrimmage is set for July 28 against Indiana.
“We are looking forward to competing against someone other than ourselves,” guard Derrick White said.
The Spurs were off Saturday, a much-needed break after several days of spirited practices.
“We are just happy to be on the floor,” Murray said. “We will play two or three games (each practice), and then we are mad we can’t play more.”
Heading into the Spurs’ second full week in Orlando the rotation remains in flux.
“The coaches do a good job of mixing it around, trying to figure out lineups,” Murray said.
No matter what role Gay takes on, he is confident he will continue to make an impact by setting an example for younger players.
“They’re learning,” he said. “I’m learning how to help them.
It’s a win-win.”
Gay’s willingness to be a mentor was one of the reasons he was a nominee for the NBA’s 2018-19 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.
“Rudy has been great, always reaching out and helping me,” White said. “I am really thankful to have had Rudy here for the whole time I have been here. On the court, he’s had an amazing career, and he has adjusted to whatever the coaching staff throws at him. He’s just out there competing and doing what he can to help the team win.”