At some point soon, either in the summer of 2017 or perhaps during the season, Rudy Gay's time as a member of the Sacramento Kings will come to an end.

Gay has informed the Kings that he will opt out of his contract after the season ends and has no plans on re-signing in Sacramento. The Kings wanting to get something of value from Gay before he bolts in 2017, have been reportedly shopping him. This is nothing new for the Kings though as Sacramento has been trying to trade Gay since last season.

But while Gay would likely want to explore free agency and choose where he will play next, if the Kings trade him, he probably wouldn't mind. Especially since according to former Kings coach George Karl, Gay calls Sacramento "basketball hell."

From ESPN's Marc Stein:

An aside on Gay: He's quoted in an advance copy of George Karl's forthcoming book "Furious George," due to be published in January by HarperCollins, as telling Karl when he met the new Sacramento coach for the first time in February 2015, "Welcome to basketball hell."

The Kings have been a dysfunctional franchise for the last several years. Their team owner Vivek Ranadive, also has a bad habit of blaming others for the club's problems. Ranadive, of course after the fact, has realized the errors of his ways. However, with such poor behavior from team ownership and constant turmoil in the front office and coaching ranks, you can understand why Gay refers to the Kings as "basketball hell."

But perhaps Gay may change his stance on the Kings this season. The Kings hired new coach Dave Joerger, who should bring some stability and be a constant for the players. Team president and GM Vlade Divac is also becoming more established in his role, and for now at least, has a good working relationship with Joerger. This year, the Kings are also playing in a brand new technologically advanced arena, which could foster a good playing environment for players.

So you never know, perhaps Sacramento will be less of a 'hell' for Gay this season. But the Kings will need to actually produce results on the court in order for that to happen. And for the moment, that remains to be seen.