Free agent star Gordon Hayward has reportedly committed to join the Boston Celtics, though his agent says the decision isn’t final.
Gordon Hayward's agent, Mark Bartelstein, tells ESPN: "Gordon hasn't made a decision yet. We are still working through it."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 4, 2017
The Utah Jazz have yet to be informed of Hayward’s plans. Stay tuned …
Per ESPN:
Hayward will be reunited with Brad Stevens in Boston, who also coached him in college at Butler.
Boston would now need a series of transactions to create cap space for Gordon Hayward. The Celtics would have to pull the qualifying offer on Kelly Olynyk, renounce free agents Jonas Jerebko, James Young, Gerald Green and waive the contracts of Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson (or trade). The Celtics would be left with $27.6M in room and likely need to move the contract of Terry Rozier or Marcus Smart. Trading Rozier would have the Celtics short $1M of a max salary a lot.
Hayward’s decision marks the second consecutive offseason that a major star has decided to switch teams in free agency. Last year, Kevin Durant announced that he was leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors.
It also is the second straight summer that the Celtics have successfully recruited a coveted player on the free agent market. Last year, Al Horford signed with Boston.
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2017 Free Agency Tracker
