I would think a lot of players like Haywood are going to start thinking about switching teams at this point in their careers. Rather than grabbing all the money they can and anchoring yourself to a sucky franchise, sign with a better team and "build your brand."
Mike
The Jazz aren't a sucky franchise at all. They also have a defensive player of the year candidate in Gobert, an up coming SG in Hood, and some quality young depth like Mack, Exum, Lyles, etc. and then you add in some crafty vets like Hill (also a free agent), Johnson, Diaw, Ingles, and Favors (who is still pretty young in his own right). You could almost argue Utah is in a better position than Boston going forward, given the age of Gobert and Hood as compared to Thomas and Horford (Thomas and Horford are better right now no question, but for how much longer, Gobert has continually made jumps every year as has Hood). Now obviously what sets Boston apart a bit is the draft pick this year and presumably the high one next year as well (though you never know what the Nets will do this summer), but whomever Boston picks may never be as good as Gobert, Hood, etc. Couple that with Utah being able to offer a lot more money and that being where Hayward has spent his entire career and there are plenty of reasons for someone like Hayward to decide to stay put.
I wouldn't say Utah sucks but four of their core rotation players this season were 29, 30, 34 and 35 years old. Favors and Exum look like they'll never be what people expected and Rodney Hood is about a year and a half older than Smart. And if they resign Hill, they'll be blowing just about all their cap room to hold onto a 30-year-old, above average point guard. Given that max deal guys are almost untradeable, is that what you want to tie yourself to for the next 5 or 6 years?
My point is more that the NBA has made trading or signing free agents so difficult that top line players will almost be forced into taking a more proactive stance if they don't want to spend the bulk of their careers like KG, on teams that have no chance at all to really compete.
Mike
I more or less agree. The idea that Utah is a rising team with the potential to become a contender in the next few years is kind of a myth. When I looked at their roster/contracts recently I was surprised by how mediocre their situation is.
A lot of it is driven by the fact that they have Gobert, but as I mentioned before centers are becoming less valuable in the smallball era. Now that his extension kicks in, he will be making 21-25 million a year.
Utah also has a lot of veterans that are either very old or not improving, like Joe Johnson, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks, Boris Diaw, and George Hill.
This summer it will be very difficult and costly to keep Hill and Ingles if Hayward re-signs. So there's also that issue - Is the current team enough to beat the Warriors in the next few years? If the answer is no (it's no) then will the Utah ownership be willing to pay big bucks to keep them? It's very possible Utah will have to take a minor step back next season and that's not going to make Hayward very happy.
Topic: Does Gordon Hayward think twice now about coming to the Celtics? (Read 8260 times)