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Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant, left, looks to pass away from San Antonio Spurs' Rudy Gay (22) during the fourth quarter in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Tuesday, April 24, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. Golden State won 99-91. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Photo: Ben Margot, STF / Associated Press

When Rudy Gay signed with the Spurs last July, he naturally assumed he would be working past April 24.

After all, each of the previous 20 Spurs postseasons had all extended past that date.

The Spurs’ first-round ouster at the hands of the Golden State Warriors earlier this week was not the worst thing that happened to Gay.

“To put it in perspective, last year I was carried off the floor,” Gay said. “Last year at this time, I couldn’t walk without a boot.”

A few months after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon suffered in January 2017, Gay joined the Spurs intent on proving his health and repairing his career.

Now it could be time to cash in.

Gay, who turns 32 in August, owns a player option worth $8.8 million with the Spurs next season. If he declines to exercise it, he will become an unrestricted free agent for the second summer in a row — and this time with a clean bill of health.

In the immediate aftermath of a tough season, Gay seemed like a player genuinely torn.

“Obviously I have to go through and assess some things,” Gay said. “But after a season like this, it’s hard not to want to come back and fight for a championship. I love these guys.”

Gay appeared in 57 games during the regular season, averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 21.6 minutes. His averages per 36 minutes were in line with his career numbers.

Gay missed 23 games beginning in December while dealing with bursitis in his right heel.

Related: After season in limbo, new era awaits Spurs

It wasn’t until the postseason, when Gay was elevated to the Spurs’ starting lineup, that he says he began to feel like himself again. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds against the Warriors.

Gay’s 14-point, seven-rebound outing in Game 4 helped the Spurs secure their lone victory in the series.

“A lot of times, I willpowered through games, willpowered through practices,” Gay said. “I didn’t feel like there was anything worse I can go through (than the Achilles tendon injury).”

The Spurs signed the 6-foot-8 Gay hoping he would complement All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard’s scorer. Over the summer, Spurs staffers salivated when wondering of the damage a Leonard-Gay-LaMarcus Aldridge frontline to wreak.

They never got a chance to find out.

With the injured Leonard missing all but nine games, including the entire playoffs, Gay took on a greater role than he imagined.

If Leonard’s continued absence was the primary factor in the Spurs sinking to 47 wins, Gay’s midseason heel injury didn’t help.

“We lost Rudy for two months, and Rudy was a big part of our team,” Manu Ginobili said. “He was our second scorer. He was the new guy and he needed to adjust, and we didn’t have him for a big part of the season.”

The Spurs are interested in bringing Gay back, but other factors will dictate how much they can afford to pay him if he elects to test free agency.

In the meantime, Gay is eager to enter the summertime healthy and able to work on his craft, instead of learning to walk again.

Even playing a schedule shortened by bursitis, Gay said he “maybe ran out of gas a little bit” by the end of it.

“I feel good going into the offseason knowing I can really perfect my game,” Gay said. “During the summer, I can really focus on being myself again.”

Gay came to San Antonio to escape the drama and dysfunction of Sacramento, where he had spent the previous four seasons.

Instead, the Leonard saga followed the Spurs from opening of training camp to the last day of the playoffs and now into an uncertain summer. During the playoffs, the Spurs lost coach Gregg Popovich for the final three games following the death of his wife.

“It’s been tough for everybody,” Gay said. “You have to applaud this team. We fought through a lot. Everybody had things they were dealing with, all the way up to coach. We still found a way to bond together.”

After the Spurs’ season-ending loss in Oakland, Gay sounded sincere when he reflected on what the season meant to him.

Read more: Win or lose, a potential franchise-shaking summer is on the way for Spurs

“I’m just proud I was part of this team,” Gay said. “One through 15, we all supported each other. We all had each other’s back. We came in the gym with one goal.”

In that, perhaps, Gay did get what he signed up for with the Spurs.

“Everybody here is a mature professional,” Gay said. “That’s why I came here.”

Now the question remains: Will that be enough to entice him back?

Jeff McDonald is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | email@example.com | @JMcDonald_SAEN


