[ad_1]
Gordon Hayward’s decision to sign with the Charlotte Hornets came instantly.
How? ‘Or’ What Danny Ainge let Hayward go for nothing?!?
It’s understandable, in a way, because letting Hayward walk without getting anything in return would be a bit of a disaster for the Boston Celtics. He would be the third major free agent, joining Al Horford and Kyrie Irving, to show nothing.
But hope of a return to Hayward’s departure is not yet lost. Ainge and the Celtics are working on a signing and trade that could still send Hayward to Charlotte for whatever price they wanted. In return, Boston could get something big.
Here’s why it’s so important for the Celtics to sign and trade for Gordon Hayward:
1: Celtics Could Find A Way To Catch A Star Right Now
If there’s one thing Ainge won’t do, it’s sit idly by while someone decides to leave town. He tried to sign and trade Irving to Brooklyn last season, but a division rival wasn’t very keen to help the Celtics. He then switched to Kemba Walker, taking advantage of Charlotte’s refusal to pay him. He convinced the Hornets to take Terry Rozier in a double nod and trade that helped soften the loss of two key starters.
Things have obviously worked out pretty well for Boston. Even though fans were upset as the Eastern Conference Finals were defeated, the addition of Walker and his role in the growth of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown was essential in taking the Celtics further into the playoffs, even after losing Horford and Irving.
As we roam the NBA landscape, there is one obvious target who wants out of his predicament: James Harden.
It’s the more ambitious of the two routes, but there’s a way to bring in a star like Harden, and the first step is to convince Charlotte to structure Hayward’s contract so that it goes down in value. Instead of a normal four-year $ 120 million deal, which starts around $ 28 million and grows 5% each year, they could structure it so that the first year is $ 33.5 million and that it decreases by 5% each year.
The upside for Charlotte is that Hayward gives back some ceiling space over time. The advantage for Boston is that 33.5 million are in the same range of the salary of 41.2 million Harden.
This is, of course, the first step among many for the Celtics. They would have to find a package in this structure that pleases Houston. They should find lots of choices and young players that Houston wants to operate, making this very complicated option. It’s a bit long, but there is still an external chance that it will materialize.
There is a more likely scenario, however.
2: Create an exception to exchange a star later
Three (or more) team agreements are complicated to achieve. It’s much easier for Boston and Charlotte to find a structure for Hayward’s contract that works for both parties and have Boston send Hayward and a draft pick to Charlotte for nothing to create a traded player exception ( TPE).
Because Charlotte is under the ceiling and can create the room to absorb Hayward’s contract, the normal pay equalization rules don’t apply. In the language of collective agreements, this is called a non-simultaneous exchange. Think of it as a three-team trade with the possibility of finding the third team later. The Celtics would send Charlotte some sort of incentive, most likely a draft pick, to make that happen.
Let’s use the $ 33.5 million figure again, because it maximizes the possibilities for Boston. What this number actually becomes remains to be determined. The important thing to know is that the first year of contract size Hayward is the size of the TPE.
If the Hornets structure a contract where money is loaded as one, Boston will get a TPE 33.5 million. It’s basically an empty bucket that can be filled with $ 33.5 million in salary. Boston has a year to use it, and then it disappears. It can be divided into pieces, but it cannot be combined with anything.
So if a player earning $ 33.5 million or less becomes available by the trade deadline, the Celtics can suddenly become a player without having to send corresponding salaries. That’s not to say that they won’t send assets, but we’re not looking to add, say, Marcus Smart to a deal because his contract is necessary for the deal to work. The $ 33.5 million TPE is the corresponding salary.
It can also be worn to the next offseason, which is loaded with high level free agents. Signing a top star might not be enough, but Jayson Tatum is already close enough for Boston. That money could bring in one or two great quality actors to help complete the list.
In that case, Boston would have to negotiate a salary and then establish a signing and trade with that player’s former team to make it work. It’s an extra layer of negotiation, and getting a player this way would trigger a hard limit, so it complicates things a bit. But it’s an option the Celtics normally wouldn’t have because they’re going over the cap. In essence, it would be a form of ceiling space.
Either way, it’s important for Boston to make sure at least one of these things gets done. Losing Hayward for nothing would be very painful. Making a signing and a trade, even for a traded player exception, keeps the hope that the Celtics get something valuable in return.
This was discussed in the last podcast Locked On Celtics, embedded below. You can subscribe to the podcast on Google, Apple, Stitcher, or Spotify, or wherever there are podcasts.
Related content:
[ad_2]
Source link