Does a cancelled season assure a Hayward return? Apparently yes. Page 3.

[gouki88]

If the season is cancelled, the Basketball Related Income for this season will take a massive hit. Depending on how everything is handled(meaning no smoothing of cap numbers) the salary cap could not just be lower than projections, but lower than in 2019-20.

That means for free agents, or players with opt outs that can become free agents, their new max salaries and contracts in general could be much lower in 2020-21 as compared to 2021-22. So for these players with opt out clauses, maybe it makes more sense to take the payday next year and opt out in 2021 where more teams will have money and the salaries will be much higher after a full 2020-21 season.

So given all this, does it make it a no brainer for Hayward to not opt out, play next year in Boston and become a free agent in 2021? I think it does. I think it just about guarantees Hayward is back next year, which I think is a good thing.

Hayward is going to think of this year as a huge what if?

Considering the fact the NBA got shut down, and his commitment to Stevens, I would assume he would at least opt in. And then explore extension talks down the line if all goes well.

Either way, naysayers will say Hayward wasn't that good this year despite his advanced stats proving how useful he was.

Man, first the gruesome injury now a worldwide pandemic. Two huge interruptions completely out of Gordy’s control.

I think he’ll return. He loves playing for Stevens, he seems to really get along with Kemba and the Jays now that Kyrie is gone, his form is really good (17/7/4 with great shooting and solid defence) and we have a chance at winning it all in the not so distant future. Not to mention the less money floating around due to lost revenue

[nickagneta]

It'll be pretty awful for the Cs if he does. They needed to stay under the luxury tax next season in order to re-start the clock. With the salary cap sure to take a hit, there will really be no way for that to happen if Hayward opts in. Let's just hope the Cs can work out a deal with him and they still manage to get under the cap.

Hopefully there will be some exception in place due to these unforeseen circumstances. I know people don't care how much money the owners spend, but the repeater tax is quite constraining to teams. It'd be a shame if we managed to get this far, but then Hayward just opted in to his big fat contract.

Note: I really do want Hayward to stick around.

My guess is that there will be some mitigation on the tax next year.  Revenues could be so low as to bump the majority of the league into the tax.  Wouldn’t surprise me if they suspended it for a season.

I have seen discussions of the salary cap staying at $109 million or even dropping a few million lower.

Does this sound right if the season is lost?

They still have over 20% of the regular season to go in total games. That missed ticket sales alone should severely affect the BRI.

Then there is all the BRI money made during the playoffs.....

Seems like some smoothing of the luxury tax rules and numbers might be necessary for the year.

[SHAQATTACK]

hope he stays .  I think he should .   So many celtics with nagging injuries .   The extra time off and healing has to help,this team.  Kemba and Kanter need it .  I hate to see them come back in late Summer out of shape and get re injured going into the new season .  Rather completely reset the table and start off fresh in the fall.

I think he stays.    Won't pull a Al job on us.

[Birdman]

I really don’t care if he stays or goes..he can be replace and open up more cap space

[gouki88]

I really don’t care if he stays or goes..he can be replace and open up more cap space

Wrong on both counts. His playmaking cannot in fact simply "be replaced", and considering the likely lost revenue and Boston's cap situation - paying Kemba, Jaylen and Smart, as well as having to pay Tatum soon - we won't get any significant cap by losing him.

Kanter may likely leave, considering he's probably underpaid, but we will probably want to keep Ojeleye.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/

[footey]

Man, Hayward sat out his entire first year of the contract. And then played horribly in his second year. And now he only gets to play 2/3 of the season in his third year.

Hayward didn't "sit out" his first year, my friend. He had a devastating injury. 

He didn't play "horribly" his second year; he played while still recovering from his horrific first year injury, and clearly was not fully recovered.

And now you are lamenting that he "gets to play 2/3 of the season" due to a league wide shut down based on a global pandemic.

Are you criticizing Hayward for getting paid while all of these unfortunate events occurred?  Or just feeling sorry for the team owners that they have to still write the checks?What exactly is your point?

[jah]

idk how to delete posts here sorry

[jah]

Man, Hayward sat out his entire first year of the contract. And then played horribly in his second year. And now he only gets to play 2/3 of the season in his third year.

Hayward didn't "sit out" his first year, my friend. He had a devastating injury. 

He didn't play "horribly" his second year; he played while still recovering from his horrific first year injury, and clearly was not fully recovered.

And now you are lamenting that he "gets to play 2/3 of the season" due to a league wide shut down based on a global pandemic.

Are you criticizing Hayward for getting paid while all of these unfortunate events occurred?  Or just feeling sorry for the team owners that they have to still write the checks?What exactly is your point?

That wasn't how I interpreted the post. I think a lot of us are just sad Hayward has been so unlucky here.

[footey]

Man, Hayward sat out his entire first year of the contract. And then played horribly in his second year. And now he only gets to play 2/3 of the season in his third year.

Hayward didn't "sit out" his first year, my friend. He had a devastating injury. 

He didn't play "horribly" his second year; he played while still recovering from his horrific first year injury, and clearly was not fully recovered.

And now you are lamenting that he "gets to play 2/3 of the season" due to a league wide shut down based on a global pandemic.

Are you criticizing Hayward for getting paid while all of these unfortunate events occurred?  Or just feeling sorry for the team owners that they have to still write the checks?What exactly is your point?

That wasn't how I interpreted the post. I think a lot of us are just sad Hayward has been so unlucky here.

That's an overly generous interpretation.

[RPGenerate]

I really don’t care if he stays or goes..he can be replace and open up more cap space

Wrong on both counts. His playmaking cannot in fact simply "be replaced", and considering the likely lost revenue and Boston's cap situation - paying Kemba, Jaylen and Smart, as well as having to pay Tatum soon - we won't get any significant cap by losing him.

Kanter may likely leave, considering he's probably underpaid, but we will probably want to keep Ojeleye.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/

It's like arguing with a broken record, my friend 

[LilRip]

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion. Hayward has played well enough this year to earn a good contract. And with the emergence of Tatum (and fine, Brown), I don’t see Boston as that appealing of a destination for him to showcase his talent. To win? Yes. But there are other teams where he can contribute even more while still getting his payday.

[nickagneta]

Man, Hayward sat out his entire first year of the contract. And then played horribly in his second year. And now he only gets to play 2/3 of the season in his third year.

Hayward didn't "sit out" his first year, my friend. He had a devastating injury. 

He didn't play "horribly" his second year; he played while still recovering from his horrific first year injury, and clearly was not fully recovered.

And now you are lamenting that he "gets to play 2/3 of the season" due to a league wide shut down based on a global pandemic.

Are you criticizing Hayward for getting paid while all of these unfortunate events occurred?  Or just feeling sorry for the team owners that they have to still write the checks?What exactly is your point?

That wasn't how I interpreted the post. I think a lot of us are just sad Hayward has been so unlucky here.

Well, Sparz is pretty well known as a glass half full guy, so footey probably has a better grip on the interpretation.

[nickagneta]

I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion. Hayward has played well enough this year to earn a good contract. And with the emergence of Tatum (and fine, Brown), I don’t see Boston as that appealing of a destination for him to showcase his talent. To win? Yes. But there are other teams where he can contribute even more while still getting his payday.

If Hayward opts out, due to a lower salary cap, lower max contract values and only terrible teams having cap space, Boston is going to be the only place where he can max out his money and have the best chance of winning for specifically next year. That's why I think it's a sure thing he stays.

[Rosco917]

This team needs all the players it can get that are considered "well rounded." We need players that can step away and evaluate what a game in progress needs.

Hayward...while not Bird, or Magic, is the best that we have at this. Especially after loosing Horford.

[mmmmm]

Based on his inability to stay healthy and erratic on-court performance, I would be very surprised if he opts out. Discounting personal reasons (wanting to play in a specific town, etc)

For what it's worth, Gordon has managed to stay on the court for 1501 minutes so far this season - which is just a hair behind Kemba's 1592 minutes and not far behind Smart (1721) & Jaylen (1702).  Jayson is the only guy on this team who has managed to break 2000 minutes so far, at 2043.  But all those guys were on pace to break the 2K threshold if the season had continued.

And while he's been on the floor, Gordon has definitely been productive, posting an excellent WS/48 rate of .160.   Of the regulars, that's behind only Kanter (.207), Theis (.205) & Kemba (.163).

So I think some of what you are concerned about is perception.  If the season had not been cancelled, Gordon was on pace to log over 2000 minutes and post an 8-9 Win Share season, which would have been one of his best.