Slartibartfast wrote:iTalkToTheLord wrote:Slartibartfast wrote:
Yeah, I'd be way more excited about adding Hayward if I felt it didn't mean maxing IT.
Why would signing Hayward mean maxing IT?
I understand you sell Hayward on playing with IT, but Hayward will absorb all the remaining cap-space this year, so he automatically rules out an extension at higher money, ensuring IT will be a free agent. At that point, Hayward's scoring will make us far less reliant on ITs, so we'll be in a significantly better negotiating position. We'll also be a better team, which makes a hometown discount more likely.
It's been reported, by Jared Weiss, that IT is willing to take less money to resign. That's more likely to be true if we're (a) a better team and (b) up against the tax.
Because I'm doubting whether Ainge would let him walk for nothing when he's already spending $60 mil on Hayward and Horford and he doesn't have the flexibility to replace him for the same money. Ainge wasn't having any of that with Perk, Rondo, Pierce or KG. Not even Jeff Green. And he took losing TA and Ray really hard.
With IT, I think it's either we trade him now/at the deadline or we resign him. And the conventional wisdom, one conjectural rumor that Hayward doesn't want to play with him notwithstanding, is that adding Hayward is contingent on IT being here (and would make trading IT at the deadline very awkward).
As for IT leaving money on the table, I'm skeptical. A mil or two under the max maybe, but I'd be very surprised at anything else. He made league minimum for 3 years and he'll be coming up off 4 years of barely over the MLE. 29 years old, undersized, with a game based on quickness and slashing/drawing fouls... We're talking about his only chance at a big payday by NBA standards.
But if he's down for another bargain contract, sign me up. Just don't see any compelling reason why he would or should. We aren't the Spurs. We don't get insane, borderline sketchy discounts.
If the Celtics land Hayward I personally would be fine dealing IT4. The problem I see right now is what are teams going to give up for a 5'9, no defense, playing in a perfect system, injured player. If Ainge just trades him for a bucket of balls that could be a national PR disaster. As much as I'd like to see what this team could be without IT4 I don't think the time is right.
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