Skip to content

Report: Kings, Heat kicking tires on Gay-Dragic swap

Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings are "kicking the tires" on a trade that would send Rudy Gay and Darren Collison to South Beach in exchange for Goran Dragic, league sources tell Michael Scotto of basketballinsiders.com.

Gay has notified the Kings he'll leave the team at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, putting added pressure on Sacramento to move their starting small forward or risk losing him for nothing. The 30-year-old has a $14.2-million player option for next season, but appears almost certain to opt out to take advantage of the league's rising salary cap.

Gay was involved in trade rumors earlier this summer, and was reportedly intrigued by the idea of going to the Heat.

It's no secret the Kings are in desperate need of a point guard, and adding Dragic could help solve that problem. While the 30-year-old is coming off a poor year by his standards, he was terrific in the second round of the 2016 playoffs, averaging 18.9 points and 5.3 rebounds versus the Toronto Raptors.

Dragic has three guaranteed years on his contract, including a player option for $19.2 million for the 2019-20 season.

Collison is facing an eight-game suspension for domestic violence to begin the 2016-17 campaign, which could factor into Sacramento's decision to trade him. He ranks as one of the NBA's worst starting point guards, but should be able to find minutes in a Heat lineup desperate for talent.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox