Miami Heat: Why Gordon Hayward should be their main free agency target

Why should Gordon Hayward be the top 2017 NBA free agency target for Pat Riley and the Miami Heat?

Gordon Hayward is set to hit the open free agency market this offseason and already has a long line of suitors. One of those suitors is the Miami Heat, who he is set to meet with on Saturday night when free agency opens up.

Pat Riley has been known to make big splashes in free agency, especially back when he convinced LeBron James to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and take his talents to South Beach. He also signed Chris Bosh that offseason to form a three-headed monster in Miami. Now, he is attempting to get the Heat back into title contention.

Convincing Hayward to leave the Utah Jazz will not be easy and it might be even more difficult to convince him that he should sign with the Heat ahead of the Boston Celtics if he does choose to leave the team that drafted him.

Boston can offer him the same kind of money that Miami can and are fresh off of a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. They also could reunite Hayward with his old Butler head coach Brad Stevens, who has been very open about wanting Hayward on the roster. Danny Ainge has been targeting Hayward and it seems like a perfect fit for both sides.

With all of that being said, why should Hayward be the top free agency target for the Miami Heat this offseason?

As fellow Hoops Habit columnist Frank Urbina wrote yesterday, Hayward could sign with Miami to a three-year, maximum contract. He may not want to lock himself down for the next five years. Boston could offer the same, while the Jazz can offer more money than both on a five-year deal that would be worth more than $200 million.

Hayward has also scheduled a meeting with the Jazz for Monday, but plans to be fairly quick about his free agency decision. He will meet with the Celtics as well, although the time for that meeting has not been revealed yet.

Last season with the Jazz, Hayward put together career numbers. He averaged 21.9 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Hayward shot 47.1 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 39.8 percent of his three-point attempts.

Looking at the other free agents in the 2017 class, there is only one other name that the Heat could target to become a franchise player. That player would be Los Angeles Clippers superstar Blake Griffin. Hayward would be a better fit for the Heat, as they are looking for a perimeter star that can add shooting and scoring to the equation.

Griffin would be a nice pickup for the Heat as well, but Miami doesn’t necessarily need a big frontcourt addition with star center Hassan Whiteside already down low.

Goran Dragic is a draw for Hayward as well, apparently. According to a report from Jordan Schultz, Hayward likes the idea of playing with Dragic. That will help Miami as it make its pitch to him.

Needless to say, it will be intriguing to see how the Hayward sweepstakes turn out. There are plenty of other dominoes that will fall once Hayward makes his decision. Teams that miss out on Hayward could very well end up turning to the Indiana Pacers and engaging in trade discussions for Paul George.

Boston appears to favor signing Hayward and then acquiring George to form a “Big Four” of Hayward, George, Al Horford and Isaiah Thomas. That quartet could very well compete with LeBron James in the Eastern Conference next season, should Ainge be able to pull off the deals.

All of that being said, Miami is a serious threat to sign Hayward. The Heat are known for top-notch free agency presentations and we should know more after the meeting on Saturday.

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Hayward would be a perfect pickup for the Heat and would make them an immediate team to watch in the East. Don’t be surprised if Riley’s presentation intrigues Hayward and makes the situation a bit more complicated when the time comes for Hayward to make a choice.