Gordon Daniel Hayward did a bit of everything for the Utah Jazz last season, averaging 16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.4 steals, at 24 years of age making him one of the more coveted players in the league this summer of the 2014 NBA free agency. And when the Jazz failed to reach an agreement with Hayward, he became a restricted free agent as a result.
The young and dynamic swingman is at the point in his NBA career where it would be in his best interest to test the free agency waters. As a 16/5/5/1 guy, Hayward is certainly in the radar of several teams like the Suns, and Celtics, to name a few, aside from the Jazz. Cleveland for one, is in hot pursuit of Hayward and sources around the league reveal that the team is willing to go as far as offering the Jazz small forward a max contract.
The Cavs obviously want him and right now as I am writing this post, Gordon is in Cleveland discussing the details of the offer. Brian Windshort from ESPN reports:
"The Cleveland Cavaliers are hosting restricted free agent forward Gordon Hayward for a visit Wednesday and are preparing a huge offer sheet to try to pry him away from the Utah Jazz, sources told ESPN.com. The Cavs, who have the ability to clear as much as $20 million in salary-cap space, are believed to be willing to start a deal at the maximum contract number of about $15 million per season."
The Cavs' pursuit on Hayward makes sense as there is little chance for the franchise to bring back LeBron James. A lot of signs are pointing that James will be playing for the Heat in the next chapter of his career and this leaves Cleveland with a ton of money to spend on free agents this off-season. Bringing in a young, talented defensive swingman who can defend multiple positions like Hayward would benefit the team both in the short term and long term.
Its also easy to see that Hayward would fit nicely alongside Kyrie Irving who just made a commitment to to sign a five-year, $90 million extension with the Cavs earlier this week and is already on his way to becoming the next big thing in the point guard position. But what about their No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wiggins? Wouldn't Hayward's signing clog the small forward position?
Well, the Cavs see Wiggings as a shooting guard so that means Hayward would be fulfilling the small forward duties if he lands in Cleveland.
The Jazz, however, have expressed their intent on matching any offer from other teams. If Hayward receives a max offer from the Cavs and signs it, its up to the Jazz if they will match it. If not, then we may be seeing Hayward in a Cavs jersey playing along side Kyrie Irving and Wiggins next season.
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