2017 NBA free agency grades: Boston Celtics snag Gordon Hayward

The Boston Celtics made their first universally acclaimed move of the offseason, landing Gordon Hayward in 2017 NBA free agency.

General manager Danny Ainge wasn’t able to trade for Jimmy Butler, Paul George or Kristaps Porzingis, but the Boston Celtics finally managed to pull off their first slam dunk of the offseason.

As first reported by ESPN‘s Chris Haynes, and later confirmed by the former Utah Jazz star himself on The Player’s Tribune, Gordon Hayward has agreed to head East and reunite with his old head coach Brad Stevens in pursuit of a championship.

The Vertical‘s Shams Charania first reported the terms of the deal: four years and $128 million. According to NBA insider David Aldridge, the fourth year is a player option.

After Haynes’ initial report on Tuesday, it was soon revealed that Hayward had not yet arrived at his decision. Haynes was eventually vindicated after Hayward’s goodbye to Jazz fans was posted on The Player’s Tribune, though it’s unclear if he was truly undecided or if his decision was simply leaked before he was able to inform Utah’s front office.

Whether the reports of him being undecided were simply to give Hayward’s camp time to tell the Jazz “first” is unclear, but in any case, the Celtics have finally landed their first big fish of the summer — especially after the controversial move to trade down from the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft for Jayson Tatum at No. 3.

From here, Boston has to free up salary cap space before they can officially sign one of the summer’s best free agents. According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, step one is renouncing the rights to restricted free agent Kelly Olynyk.

As ESPN‘s Bobby Marks points out, that alone won’t get the job done. The rights to Jonas Jerebko, James Young and Gerald Green have to be renounced, Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson must be waived or traded, and one of Jae Crowder, Terry Rozier or Marcus Smart would need to be dealt away.

There is a question as to how Boston will proceed from here, since both Hayward and Jae Crowder are most comfortable playing the 3-spot. Having versatile two-way wings is pivotal in today’s NBA, where position-less basketball reigns supreme, but asking one of those two to play the 4 for a full 82-game season seems unlikely.

Instead, the Celtics may look to move Crowder and some of those stockpiled assets — either to clear salary cap space or to bring in a difference-maker at the 4, especially with Amir Johnson departing in free agency and Olynyk being renounced to start the process of clearing cap room.

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Coming off a 53-win season, the Celtics were reminded they were the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference by name only after the Cleveland Cavaliers swiftly bounced them from the conference finals.

Knowing they were still one or two major pieces away from truly contending, the C’s have added that first piece in Gordon Hayward.

Coming off his first All-Star appearance, Hayward averaged a career-high 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from three-point range.

He performed admirably in Utah’s second round sweep at the hands of the Warriors, but it was evident that the Jazz were still several rungs below Golden State on the Western Conference ladder. With so many star players heading West this summer, Hayward will join quite possibly the only real threat to Cleveland’s reign in the East.

Last season, Boston’s offense cratered by 14.6 points per 100 possessions when Isaiah Thomas, the NBA’s third-leading scorer at 28.9 points per game, sat. Bringing in Hayward gives the Celtics a bonafide secondary scorer who can space the floor with his three-point shot.

However, Hayward will be a welcome addition on the defensive end too. As a part of Quin Snyder’s third-ranked defense, the former Butler product will help the Celtics tighten up last year’s 12th-ranked defense. Even if Crowder has to go, Hayward is a significant upgrade on the wing.

Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

Hayward is perhaps the most unassuming star in the NBA today, but that doesn’t mean he’s unworthy of his new $32 million annual salary. This move alone does not close the gap between Boston and Cleveland in the East, and more sacrifices have to be made, but it’s a necessary start.

Grade: A-