Getting Paul George was one of the Boston Celtics’ main selling points for Utah Jazz star Gordon Hayward in free agency. But now that George has been traded to the Thunder, Utah’s chances of keeping Hayward have grown.
Instead of swapping players on rookie-scale contracts and future first round picks which he’s accumulated throughout the years for a star in return, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has once again decided to keep his assets.
And this time, it could have a direct influence on Gordon Hayward’s decision to stay with or leave the Utah Jazz.
On Friday night, the Indiana Pacers traded All-Star forward Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Boston was a favorite to land George, even though it appeared he would inevitably be on his way to the Los Angeles Lakers once he expressed a desire to return home.
After finishing atop the conference, the Celtics seemed poised to add more star-power to their roster with hopes of competing against the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. Ainge had passed on acquiring All-Star Jimmy Butler, anticipating an eventual deal for another star.
Now that opportunity is gone and the Celtics aren’ t left with much on the market. George is no longer available and Blake Griffin, who the Celtics were also going to target this summer, re-signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
This weekend, Ainge had specific pitches to convince Hayward to come to Boston: 1) the Celtics are in the East and have shown considerable growth, 2) a reunion with former Butler coach Brad Stevens, 3) and the possibility to team up with George.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, then with The Vertical, detailed Boston’s third persuasion point, writing, “For salary-cap purposes, Boston wants a Hayward commitment before it can finalize a trade for George and secure the most dynamic free-agent coup in franchise history, league sources said.”
Boston waited for Hayward to agree to a deal before completing a trade for George, but now their plan has been rebuffed.
As currently constructed, the Celtics cannot legitimately compete for a championship. The market is beginning to dry up, as both of Boston’s top targets — George and Griffin — will not be wearing green jerseys next season. And with that, one of Boston’s main selling points for Hayward has vanished.
Hayward, like anyone else in the NBA, wants to play with talent. Boston has yet to make a move in free agency and Ainge’s stubbornness cost him the chance to get another star in George, and it damaged his chance to steal Hayward from Utah.
It’ ll take some time to see who the winner of the Pacers and Thunder trade will be, but for the Jazz, this is a victory and could sway Hayward in their direction.
