Hello CB,
I wanted to start a topic about a trade idea that I had for Gordon Hayward, and hopefully look at this from both sides of the proposal, including reasons I can think of to be both for and against the trade idea. This is designed more to start a discussion, and hopefully we can keep it civil! Here we go....
Celtics trade:
Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson, 2018 Nets Pick
Utah trades:
Gordon Hayward
A few things first. Amir is here to match salaries, simple as that. This trade would also depend on Gordon resigning in Boston, which I don't think would be an issue given the upward trend of the team and his strong connection to Brad Stevens. I also realize that some might say to just wait for Gordon to hit free agency and sign him out right, which would be ideal no doubt. For all we know he could extend in Utah and completely skip free agency, so I wanted to go ahead and suggest this trade. Good talent is hard to find in the NBA, and sometimes you have to give up something to get something in return.
Why would Boston do this?
The Celtics have been looking for another star since turning the corner after acquiring Thomas at the deadline a few years ago. We signed Horford this past off season, and were one of a handful of teams to get a meeting with KD. It seems safe to say that Boston is on the radar for a lot of players and the league as a whole, but we are still clearly missing *something* to help us get to that next level of being a serious contender. Enter Gordon Hayward.
For anyone who hasn't been following GH this season, he is tearing it up in Utah, especially recently. As of this posting Hayward is averaging 23 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds a game (23.63 PER) through 17 games played. He has looked particularly solid as of late, averaging 27 a game over his last ten, and through four games in the month of December his averages jump to 29/4/4 on 50% overall shooting and 55% from deep. Adding Hayward would give Boston another big time scorer, who can create his own shot and get to the line (averaging 7.5 free throw attempts a game this season). Hayward also has the offensive versatility that Boston likes, can handle the ball, and play both on and off the ball as well.
The Celtics have acquired a ton of assets with the goal of adding a big name player. Looking ahead, the class of 2017 free agents features a lot of guys that look like locks to stay with their current teams. Curry and Durant are most likely going to stay in Golden State. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are also likely to stay in Los Angeles, especially if the team can continue their strong play this season. Hayward is one of, if not the top free agent after these players, and is entering his prime while having increased his scoring every single season that he has been in the league. If he opts out he will be highly sought after.
Hayward's future with Utah?
The Jazz have a nice core of Gobert, Hayward, and Favors, however they have some tough financial decisions on the horizon, as both Hayward and Favors will be up for contracts soon and probably looking for max or near max money. Rodney Hood and Dante Exum will soon follow, and given the new cap all of these guys could receive some large offers. Simply put, keeping the core together in Utah is going to be extremely difficult. Hayward is expected to opt out after this season (becoming an unrestricted free agent), and should be a highly targeted free agent (especially if the other big name free agents don't change teams as mentioned earlier). There was an excellent article written about the Jazz's situation on the Salt Lake Tribune, which I will link to for anyone who is interested. The Jazz have already extended Gobert to the tune of $100 million, locking in a key young piece for the next several years.
Link to article on Jazz contract situation:
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/4307073-155/utah-jazz-nearing-tough-hard-financialWhy would Utah trade Hayward?
As previously mentioned, Hayward is expected to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. It is possible that Utah could lose him for nothing. With Gobert locked up at only 24 years old the Jazz have a great piece to build around for the immediate future. Utah has built a very good team, but the Western conference is loaded and the Jazz will have a difficult time making any serious run in the postseason. It is debatable if resigning their core pieces (Hayward and Favors) would be a wise move. They would be using a large portion of their salary cap on three players that while very good, are not really good enough to get them into serious title consideration over the next few years. Add to this the other players on their roster who are looking at new contracts soon and something may have to give in Salt Lake City. With Hayward entering his prime and looking at a large deal a trade may be the best return for Utah, especially if they ever have an indication that he might not be sticking around.
Too much for Boston to give up?
I expect a lot of people will say that Brown and the 2018 Nets pick is too much for Hayward, especially giving his contract situation. Maybe it is not enough to some of you, I don't know. I personally think Hayward has reached All-Star level and I hope he gets to the game this year. Given how difficult it is to find talent in this league, and how thin the 2017 free agent class looks, I would have to seriously consider this trade.
Boston would add a third all-star (IMO) to their core of IT and Al, while keeping key pieces such as Bradley, Smart, and Crowder (who I would move to the sixth man role/small ball four). Giving up a promising young player in Brown AND a Nets pick is a lot to swallow, but the C's collected all these assets to use them on a player that can help them move forward, and I think GH would fit perfectly in Boston while giving them another great scoring option and flexible player on both sides of the ball. They would also hold on to the Nets 2017 pick in this proposed deal, which is no small feat.
As for Utah...
With Gobert locked up they would be adding Jaylen Brown on a rookie deal and have a very promising duo in these two players. The 2018 pick would give them another chance to add top talent from that draft, not too mention their own picks in 2017 and 2018, which may be lottery bound as well (especially 2017). Amir would be off the books after this season and would allow them some flexibility to either retain their guys or go after some players that may fit their new young core. With the talent gap in the Western Conference and the possibility of Hayward leaving for nothing this is not the worst option for Utah. I am still not sure if this would be considered enough from their standpoint, or too much from Bostons, but that is why I wanted to write all this to bring up the possibility.
If your still with me after all this than I thank you for reading and hope we can keep all comments civil, as I am just trying to give us some more subjects to discuss.
Thoughts?
Edit to add a link to the trade machine. Trade works and projects to add 8 wins to Boston.
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=jjxo4m3