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The Milwaukee Bucks may have already ruined the Boston Celtics’ off-season plans.
The Atlanta Hawks could end up bending the knife.
The Celtics and Gordon Hayward have reportedly agreed to extend the deadline to Thursday for Hayward to make a decision on his $ 34.2 million player option for the coming season. Reading between the lines, the expansion likely means the Celtics are trying to put together some trade deals and see what’s out there.
But here’s the problem: If Hayward steps down, it would likely cost many teams too much to sign him outright. It makes things better for all parties if he does a signing and a trade, where the teams that bring him in pour money into the trade to make the money work while adding Hayward to the mix.
So here’s where the Hawks come in. Rumor has it they’re interested in Hayward, and they’re inundated with overhead space. They could sign Hayward if they wanted.
This means, like Yahoo! Sports Keith Smith points out, if Hayward chooses and goes for nothing then all Celtics receive is the middle level exception of $ 9.3 million. That, of course, is probably not enough to sign a player who at least matches Hayward’s production.
On the other hand, if the Celtics are able to trade Hayward, then this give them the biggest trade exception in the NBA, which opens the door for them to make substance movements with the Hayward money then released.
All of this to say that the Hawks are a team to watch right now. If they get Hayward to walk away from his Celtics deal and sign in Atlanta outright, Boston will be in disaster mode.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports Images
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