Assume Hayward will walk
Although the consensus will be for Hayward to be re-signed to a maximum deal this summer, the Jazz should look at broadening their horizons.
Taking his game to a new level has made Hayward one of the more sought-after free agents this offseason. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Boston Celtics are strongly favored to retain their No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and target Hayward in free agency, as opposed to giving the pick up in order to chase players such as Paul George and Jimmy Butler who are still under contract.
Hayward has long been connected to the Celtics due to his close relationship with their head coach, Brad Stevens, whom he played under at Butler. And it’s not only his relationship with Stevens that would have the Jazz concerned with Hayward’s movements this summer. Firstly, the Celtics are going improve naturally by holding the No.1 overall pick. But from an overall perspective, the Cleveland Cavaliers represent the only legitimate elite team in the Eastern Conference.
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Furthermore, as touched on earlier, the money difference is not as significant as it may have been had Hayward qualified for the Designated Player Exception, whereby a player is eligible to sign for a designated percentage of the salary cap if they have 7-9 years of experience with the team they were drafted by. Having missed a selection on one of the three All-NBA teams, the Jazz have lost significant bargaining power as a result.
NBA salary cap expert Albert Nahmad tweeted the following with these details in mind:
If you’re a team interested in Gordon Hayward this summer, you’re surely pointing out he doesn’t sacrifice anything financially by coming.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) May 18, 2017
Recently, Hayward was relatively non-committal regarding his future plans:
"“I’m going to take some time off. I’m going to enjoy some time with my family and reflect on the season. I want to get my body back to 100 percent….and after that, obviously deal with the next chapter.”"
Under his new arrangement, Hayward will be eligible to sign for a five-year, $177.5 million contract with Utah. So assuming the buzz surrounding Hayward is true and he decides to land in Boston or elsewhere, the following moves will be taken with this in mind.