Rudy Gay lands 3-year contract extension with Kings

The Sacramento Kings are off to a much stronger start than expected, and it got even better this weekend.

Not long after Saturday night's win against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs improved the Kings to 6-4 during their brutal early-season schedule, they agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension with small forward Rudy Gay that cemented their core at a reasonable rate. A person with knowledge of the deal confirmed the details to Paste BN Sports but spoke on the condition of anonymity because the extension had not yet been announced.

The deal has a player option for the 2017-18 season, meaning Gay can become a free agent again when the league's salary cap — which is projected to be $66.5 million next season — is expected to rise to perhaps $90 million as the NBA's nine-year, $24 billion television rights deal with ESPN and Turner takes effect, starting in the 2016-17 season.

Gay, the former Memphis Grizzlies star who was roundly chastised for his inefficient play in recent years, has had a revival of sorts since being traded to Sacramento in Dec. 2013. He averaged 20.1 points (48.2% shooting), 5.5 rebounds and 3.1` assists in 55 games with the Kings last season, and is averaging 22.5 points (44.8% shooting), 6.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists so far this season.

The Kings, who have gone 28-54 in each of the last two seasons, have posted wins against some of the league's best teams so far (the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and defending champion Spurs) while blowing huge leads against the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies before downing San Antonio. They gave center DeMarcus Cousins a four-year, $62 million extension last fall.

Yahoo Sports first reported Gay's extension.