Rumors have swirled for months about the Kings' intentions with both Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay going forward. With the different reports surfacing, team executive Vlade Divac presented his stance Sunday on Sirius XM NBA Radio.
When speaking on the Kings' plans with McLemore, Divac said, "It's part of the business here, you're going to receive a lot of calls, you're going to make a lot of calls, you kow, so we're really happy with Ben the way he's progressing this summer. He's very young, a player that we, like I said, like a lot, so we're going to keep him."
McLemore, 23, is a restricted free agent after the 2016-17 season. He averaged a career-low 7.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game last season.
Since being selected with the No. 7 overall pick by the Kings in the 2013 NBA Draft, the shooting guard out of Kansas has averaged 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Gay, 30, is under contract for this season at $13.3 million and has a $14.3 million player option for next season. The veteran has criticized the organization, putting his future up in the air.
"At this point in my career, I think I want some kind of consistency and we don't have that here, at all," Gay said in July.
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Last season, Gay, in his 11th season in the NBA, had his lowest scoring output since his rookie year with 17.2 points per game.
"Joking around the other day, I apologized to him, I said 'We like you so much, that's why we decide to keep you here,'" Divac told Sirius XM NBA Radio on Gay. "Rudy's a tremendous talent, he's somebody that's beautiful to watch the way he plays.
"So, we're thinking Rudy's a big part of this team to be successful, so we decide to go with him and if he decide to stay next year that's great and if he decide to leave that's fine, but we want to make sure we compete this year."
When asked if his relationship is good with Gay, Divac responded by saying, "Oh yeah, yeah. Rudy's a great guy, it's hard to get upset with Rudy."
