To add insult to injury, the pick swap between the Kings and Sixers that Vlade considered an afterthought at the time, now becomes a very real possibility with the teams separated by only one game in the standings and trending in opposite directions Kings, losers in 8 of their last 10 while Philly is one of the hottest teams in the Association winners in 7 of their last 10. The ineptitude of the Kings front office is welcomed by the Sixers, who are in position to benefit from Sacramento’s struggles. The one team not feeling the negative effects right now is the Philadelphia 76ers.
However after an uninspiring first half to this season, it became apparent Vlade Divac planned on trading him before the deadline to recoup future assets instead of losing him this summer for nothing. Rudy Gay was very clear with management when he told them he was going to opt out of his contract this summer, allowing himself to become an unrestricted free agent instead of picking up his 14.5 million dollar player option. The Kings explored trade options last year but decided they would have a better chance of ending their decade long playoff drought with the help of Rudy.
