Hayward great this year. Leaves next year?

[slamtheking]

Next year's FA class is very weak, if Hayward returns to all-star form he'll get a max 4 year contract offer from other teams.

I agree with this. Which makes me think that trading him at the deadline if he can garner a good return is probably the best move.

 If the C's traded him to Indy I don't think either Brad or Gordon would be upset because Indiana loves Hayward. My hope is that he plays well enough that the C's could get Myles Turner for him without adding much else.

If Hayward is able to show that he can excel next to Jaylen and Jayson then I wouldn't hesitate to bring him back at a contract as high as the max.

The OP suggested 19/3/3, I expect 20/5/5 this year.

The only way I see an in-season Hayward trade is if he comes close to reaching his old heights and both of the J's show significant improvement.         

If he completely bounces back to 2017 form, then I expect the Celtics to be near the top of the Conference standings.  Gordon would be our best player, so I doubt that they would move him.

this.  The C's need serious talent to win the conference.  that will require Hayward to bounce back to Utah Hayward this coming year.  Paired with Kemba and (hopefully) improving Jaylen and Jayson, that's a 4-some Danny would look to keep together if the results are much better than last year's dysfunctional mess. 

[saltlover]

So here’s the question: Hayward is extension eligible this summer.  Do you extend him now?  By rule you could give him anything as high as having him opt out and giving him a little bit more next year than he’s currently scheduled to make, with 3 more years and max raises, or as low as a deal that starts at around $20 million with a decreasing salary every year, giving him around what Rozier will earn.

So do you do it, and for how much?

I think I would do it for the amount you have, but I’m not sure Hayward would.  He might want to bet on himself returning to what he was pre injury in which case he will get more.

It would be a no brainer to extend Hayward for Rozier money.  It's a win-win for the Celtics, but like you said, Hayward would never agree to this.  He only needs to be 75-80% of his old self to secure an equal or better deal on the open market.

I agree it’s a pretty much a no-brainer for Rozier money.  That’s essentially the floor per the CBA.  The ceiling is more years at the max.  My question is where in the range of Rozier to the max would you extend Hayward.

[Moranis]

So here’s the question: Hayward is extension eligible this summer.  Do you extend him now?  By rule you could give him anything as high as having him opt out and giving him a little bit more next year than he’s currently scheduled to make, with 3 more years and max raises, or as low as a deal that starts at around $20 million with a decreasing salary every year, giving him around what Rozier will earn.

So do you do it, and for how much?

I think I would do it for the amount you have, but I’m not sure Hayward would.  He might want to bet on himself returning to what he was pre injury in which case he will get more.

It would be a no brainer to extend Hayward for Rozier money.  It's a win-win for the Celtics, but like you said, Hayward would never agree to this.  He only needs to be 75-80% of his old self to secure an equal or better deal on the open market.

I agree it’s a pretty much a no-brainer for Rozier money.  That’s essentially the floor per the CBA.  The ceiling is more years at the max.  My question is where in the range of Rozier to the max would you extend Hayward.

I'd easily add 3 years, 70-75 million on the end, but I'm not sure Hayward would do that as that basically is just a 2 year, 40 million deal if he opted in and I think he gets more than that unless he has no improvement physically from last year.

[jambr380]

Hayward at the 35% max - no way! I can't see either side finding a number that works for an extension this offseason. Hayward will want to bet on himself and the Cs will need to see more production before going any higher. Obviously not Hayward's fault, bu they've basically gotten one year of MLE production for $60M+.

I agree, though, Hayward at Rozier money would be mighty fine and his age isn't really a concern. As JBcat said, if healthy, I am more comfortable moving forward with Hayward than Horford at similar money.

[saltlover]

Hayward at the 35% max - no way! I can't see either side finding a number that works for an extension this offseason. Hayward will want to bet on himself and the Cs will need to see more production before going any higher. Obviously not Hayward's fault, bu they've basically gotten one year of MLE production for $60M+.

I agree, though, Hayward at Rozier money would be mighty fine and his age isn't really a concern. As JBcat said, if healthy, I am more comfortable moving forward with Hayward than Horford at similar money.

An extension would actually start at the 30% max, because he’s still a 9-year player this summer.

[Vermont Green]

I had forgotten that his fourth year is player option.  So he might do a Horford and go for the years over the salary in hand.  I guess that is possible.  In a way, it could be smart to take say 3 years at $20M over 1 year at $34M with injury risk.  Could be good for the Celtics potentially too.

I don't think he is ever going to see a big max contract again.

[jambr380]

Hayward at the 35% max - no way! I can't see either side finding a number that works for an extension this offseason. Hayward will want to bet on himself and the Cs will need to see more production before going any higher. Obviously not Hayward's fault, bu they've basically gotten one year of MLE production for $60M+.

I agree, though, Hayward at Rozier money would be mighty fine and his age isn't really a concern. As JBcat said, if healthy, I am more comfortable moving forward with Hayward than Horford at similar money.

An extension would actually start at the 30% max, because he’s still a 9-year player this summer.

Oh, okay, thanks and TP for that. I had forgotten that it was when the extension was signed and not when the contract would begin. More palatable, but still not wonderful.

[td450]

So here’s the question: Hayward is extension eligible this summer.  Do you extend him now?  By rule you could give him anything as high as having him opt out and giving him a little bit more next year than he’s currently scheduled to make, with 3 more years and max raises, or as low as a deal that starts at around $20 million with a decreasing salary every year, giving him around what Rozier will earn.

So do you do it, and for how much?

Regardless of how you feel about Hayward, it is crazy to keep him and Tatum long term. Neither guy makes sense as anything other than a small forward.

Trade the man at the trade deadline next year or after the season. Get the best value you can. It does not matter how well he does, unless the 3 wing combo turns into some sort of unforseen revelation where the team consistently runs power forwards off the floor.

If you can be honest with him about that and still sign him, I guess it would be relatively safe to pay him up to $27.5M for 3 more years if you think its a relatively safe be that he will come back strong. I'm not convinced he'd do it, though.

[mctyson]

I think he takes a paycut to try to win with stevens

He already got plenty of money. He doesn't seem like the money hungry. Lets be honest, at this point he wants to win and with his coach, they have unfinished business.. Money doesn't buy that

The only player in recent memory to do this was Durant, who was basically guaranteed a championship.

I do not see that happening again.

[mctyson]

If he plays up to par I see no reason that Danny wouldn’t extend him with another max deal when he’s already maxed him once.

He will not because he broke his leg and the Celtics do not pay people big money after severe lower leg injuries.  Ainge has been consistent there.

[ETNCeltics]

IMO, Gordon might do well to take that last year at $34 million. I don't think he'll command a huge offer in 2020, but OTOH, with the injury he sustained, he knows that his career is fleeting and may bolt for greener pastures if someone offers him a Horford type deal. But I don't think he'll get even that.

Regardless, if we're in the hunt, no way should we trade him. The only way it should be considered is if the season is a total loss. Hayward with a few months left on his deal isn't going to fetch us very much, so disrupting whatever we have going would be foolish.

There's also the possibility that Gordon totally becomes the player we hoped, wants to sign here for the rest of his career, meshes well with Kemba and Tatum, and Ainge does something like trade Brown. There's simply too many variables to do anything other than make a wild guess.