Gordon Hayward's free agency is unofficially considered a two-team affair between the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz. He was loosely linked to the Miami Heat in March, according to the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, but his list of options won't get much more extensive—which makes sense.
When your incumbent team is coming off 51 wins and a second-round playoff berth, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better situation. You have to be picky. And San Antonio meets the requirements of the most selective mercenaries.
No, nothing has changed about the Spurs' financial outlook. They don't have max cap space. Should they chisel out superstar money, most expect it to be in the name of Chris Paul. But Hayward's first-year salary ($30.3 million) will run about $5 million less than Paul's ($35.4 million), and upgrading the frontcourt is a smarter move when looking at the collateral damage it'll take to afford another star.
Tony Parker's $15.5 million salary isn't getting wiped from the ledger in any scenario. The Spurs are too loyal to trade or waive him, and he has no intention of retiring after his left quad injury.
Two of LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and Danny Green will get jilted instead. San Antonio comes reasonably close to max money by trading Gasol into someone's cap space and getting rid anyone who isn't a core piece. That might be enough to land Hayward without dumping Green or turning Aldridge into a combination of cheaper contributors.
Whatever the cost, Hayward allows the Spurs to play smaller without cramping Kawhi Leonard's style. A majority of his minutes came at power forward during Utah's playoff run, and he can split ball-handling duties with Leonard, ensuring the offense doesn't miss a beat while Parker rehabs his quad and Dejounte Murray learns more of the ropes.
Keep Green instead of Aldridge, and the Spurs will have a formidable, interchangeable 2-3-4 troika. Green, Hayward and Leonard can anchor a top-three defense with a bargain-bin big behind them, and the offense would be better equipped to tussle with the Warriors and Cavaliers of the world.
The cost of affording another superstar shouldn't be taken lightly. But Aldridge (player option) and Gasol could both be free agents in 2018. They may leave in one year's time anyway. Going nuclear now isn't blasphemous, and the Spurs shouldn't hamstring themselves to Paul alone if they do—not when they'll still have a few point guards on the roster.
Vrlo zanimljiv clanak Bleachera.Ako cemo vec pokusati dovesti nekoga,onda definitivno prva meta treba da bude Hayward,a ne Paul.I to iz vise razloga.Decko ima 27 god(Kawhi 26,sto ga cini idealnim partnerom u buducnosti),jedan je od najboljih SFova lige i njegov max.je u 1.godini,kako pise i u clanku,5mil manji od Paulovog.Zaista se nadam da nas FO ovo vidi i zna,jer iako imamo novac za ljeto 2018.,opet je Hayward najbolji izbor,a cak postoji i mogucnost da pustimo Gasola uz npr.Andersona samo,a da Green i LMA ostanu.
Da malo posmatramo situaciju i iz Haywardovog ugla.Odmah na startu treba reci,UTA mu je sve dala i faktor lojalnosti ce sigurno igrati ulogu,kao i cinjenica da ekipa napreduje i da je imala dobru sezonu.Medjutim,nek potpise dugorocni ugovor sa njima,nek zadrze i Hilla.Sa njihovim ugovorima su oni vec blizu i luxurya(na oko 115mil,a luxury je 124mil),a da tu nije naveden ugovor Diawa,te odluka o Inglesu koji je imao fantastican PO.Postavlja se pitanje koliko mogu napredovati u ovom sastavu kontra GSW,a zakljucace se u narednih 4 god minimalno?Do tada ce i on imati preko 30 god.Znaci treba dobro razmisliti.Druga opcija mu je prelazak u BOS kod svog koledz trenera i isto tako je u pitanju ekipa koja napreduje.Ali,ako cemo realno,njegov prelazak u BOS ga ne cini kontenderom za titulu odmah,cak i sa ovim 1.pikom.Jednostavno bi tu trebalo vremena da oni sazriju i onda je pitanje zasto napustati UTA(tim koji se razvija) za drugi tim koji se isto tako razvija??Nema logike,mada treba reci da bi bila druga prica ako bi otisao tamo,a BOS trejdovao 1.pik za npr.Georgea.Sve indicije govore da Ainge nije spreman na takvo nesto.
Znaci,sta moze biti njegovo razmisljanje,a da ide u prilog SA? Igrati za jednu od najboljih fransiza i organizacija na svijetu,sa jednim od najboljih igraca lige koji jos uvijek raste u igrackom smislu,te biti treniran od strane najboljeg trenera lige.Takodje,postaje instant kandidat za napad na titulu,a velika paznja ce se posvetiti i produzenju njegove karijere.Dobio bi i priliku da,mozda,igra zajedno i poslednju sezonu sa covjekom zbog kojeg nosi br.20(iako bi mozda bio mali problem zbog broja
).Sve u svemu,ako nas FO ima istu zelju i ako ga kontaktiramo, kad i ako uradi opt out,nece mu biti nimalo lako u donosenju odluke,posebno imajuci u vidu sta je Durant uradio.Treba reci i da njegov ugovor svakako "skace", ma gdje igrao i nema one drasticne razlike koju bi Paul morao ostaviti na stolu,posto ce Gordon,sasvim sigurno,imati jos jedan veliki ugovor u svojoj karijeri nakon ovoga.
Mogao bi on biti i nasa meta 2018.,ako uradi opt in ove sezone,ali zaista bih ga volio vidjeti u nasem dresu.Decko sve radi na parketu.