With Gordon Hayward not making an All-NBA team, the groundwork is being laid for the possibility he leaves Utah this summer and signs with another team. Maybe the Miami Heat.
The NBA announced its All-NBA teams Thursday, and Gordon Hayward didn’t make it. Bad news for the Utah Jazz. Good news, possibly, for the Miami Heat.
With Hayward getting left off the All-NBA team, the Jazz won’t have the chance to re-sign him to a five-year, $207 million designated player veteran extension that was allowed in the new collective bargaining agreement. With Hayward not being eligible for the “super max,” the Jazz won’t have as much of an advantage over other teams to re-sign him when he becomes a free agent this summer.
With Paul George, Gordon Hayward left off All-NBA teams, Pacers and Jazz lose chance to re-sign them to 5-year, $207M super-max contracts.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 18, 2017
Utah will still be able to offer Hayward more money than other teams, being able to offer a fifth year valued at $40 million. Other teams will only be able to offer Hayward a max of four years.
The difference comes out to about $36 million that the Jazz can no longer offer Hayward over the course of the contract. That $36 million would have hard to turn down, but with less money, money could play less of a factor.
Utah and the Boston Celtics are considered favorites among media to land Hayward, though reports have been scant on where Hayward might be considering he doesn’t re-sign with the Jazz. However, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News reported in March that “There are already whispers that if Utah can’t re-sign Gordon Hayward he could end up in Miami.”
The Jazz probably have the inside track on Hayward. They’re the home team, won 51 games this season in the Western Conference and are on the come up with a deep, young roster.
Hayward’s connection to Celtics coach Brad Stevens makes Boston an obvious destination. Stevens coached Hayward when they were at Butler, making a national championship appearance together in 2010. Stevens was apparently the first coach to make Hayward a scholarship offer and the two are close.
Then there’s Miami. Pat Riley will probably get a meeting with Hayward and have a chance to pitch him. He can sell the life style, and the fact that he’s built championship rosters before. He also has Erik Spoelstra.
Hayward could opt to go back to his college coach, but has he maxed out his development under Stevens? Spoelstra’s brought the best out of players like LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters, James Johnson and others. Hayward prioritized his development last summer, then got snubbed from an All-NBA team. Playing in Miami under Spoelstra could be the situation where he maximizes his talents.
Next: An open letter from a Heat fan to Gordon Hayward
The Heat won’t have the advantage of a home town or college connection, but they have an organizational advantage (even more so than the Celtics, you could argue). With a more even playing field, that’ll be what Riley pitches Hayward when he’s in the room.