Many players his age never fully recover from an Achilles injury. He is 30 and will not be ready to return to action until the start of next season, and even then it will take time to round into shape. Now, Gay will have to reconsider whether he wants to give up the remaining $14 million on his contract. He’s averaging 18.7 points and has shot well this season, setting himself up for one last big contract. Gay has an option on his contract for next season, but he was planning to opt out and become a free agent. Gay’s injury has the most immediate impact on the trading deadline, because the Kings had been considering dealing Gay for months, and as their playoff hopes have looked increasingly wobbly, Gay was likely to be shipped to a contender as a short-term rental player. Earlier in the day, star Clippers guard Chris Paul had surgery on a tendon in his left thumb, an injury that will keep him out for two months. Wednesday night in Sacramento, forward Rudy Gay went down with what is likely a torn left Achilles tendon. Now, two major injuries involving teams chasing those playoff spots have added new wrinkles to the deadline picture. This was always going to be a difficult trade market to sort out, with 28 out of the league’s 30 teams within five games of a playoff spot and just one month until the league’s trading deadline.