Your Morning Dump... Where We Wait on Gordon Hayward's Decision

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The 6-foot-8 All-Star wing left Boston on a 5:30 p.m. flight after his session with the C’s, returning to his home near San Diego. He will host the incumbent Jazz today, finishing up a three-city swing that also saw him in Miami on Saturday.

There are reports Hayward plans to make his decision known by tomorrow or Wednesday, but a source close to the player said he could let teams know his decision as early as tonight.

In any case, each hour can seem like a day for the Celts, who have placed their hopes of adding an All-Star in his basket.

Boston Herald

Here’s what we know about the Gordon Hayward meeting: (1) it started late morning and ended around 5:30, (2) Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas, Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge, and Wyc Grousbeck were all present, (3) they stopped at Fenway Park and watched videos of prominent athletes (including non-Boston athletes) talk about playing in Boston, and (4) the conversation was mostly basketball centric.

That’s it. The Globe’s Gary Washburn tweeted at 9:00 PM that the Celtics “felt like the communication was excellent and the case was made for Gordon being a great fit.” We saw pictures of Stevens picking up the Haywards at the airport. Otherwise, we have little-to-no details about the meeting.

It makes sense, as Gordon Hayward is known as a private person. Even before free agency began, there wasn’t a ton of information leaked regarding Hayward’s free agency.

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor tweeted this on Saturday:

Three league sources sense the current favorite for Gordon Hayward is Miami. Reasons: better lifestyle, Spoelstra, "feature scoring role."

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) July 1, 2017

It got Celtics twitter into a brief frenzy, but these sources aren’t coming from Hayward himself. People around the league simply believe Miami has more to offer as a Free Agent destination.

Steve Kyler of basketballinsiders.com tweeted this last night:

While far from decided – hearing Miami feels good about where they stand with Gordon Hayward – will meet with Jazz tomorrow in San Diego

— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) July 3, 2017

It’s another pro-Miami tweet with ambiguous wording. Again, this likely is not coming from Hawyard, the Heat simply feel good about their chances.

In sum, we don’t have good enough information to make a valid conclusion on where Hayward will sign. Celtics nation must wait until Hayward finishes his meeting with the Utah Jazz today. It’s widely expected he’ll make his decision on Tuesday or Wednesday, but Steve Bulpett reports that it may come as early as tonight.

Page 2: If Hayward Passes on Boston, The Alternatives Aren’t Enticing

But what if this doesn’t work out? The Celtics’ summer will be considered a failure, true, but what should they do next? The answer is, very little.

If Hayward goes elsewhere, there is no reason to react with a haphazard signing just to appease the fan base. If the Celtics were to lose out on their top free agent target, it’s simply time to move forward with the team they have now, perhaps seek a shooter to come off the bench, such as Nick Young.

This is not a talent-laden free agent class. Stephen Curry re-signed with the Warriors and Kevin Durant will follow him. Blake Griffin re-signed with the Clippers. The Celtics don’t need Kyle Lowry and wouldn’t invest a max contract in Paul Millsap.

Danilo Gallinari will be 29 in August and hasn’t played more than 71 games since 2010. And there is little reason to offer him a $20 million-plus contract when Jae Crowder can be just as efficient for $7 million per season.

The pressure has been on Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to make a major move because of the assets. He has accumulated so many draft picks that a move eventually needs to be made.

Boston Globe

If the Celtics don’t sign Hayward, they’re still returning the core of a 53 win team. It’s not like they can’t improve. Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Smart will take steps forward in their development, while rookies Jayson Tatum and Ante Zizic will immediately have opportunities in a thin front-court. And of course, they can sign veteran pieces to patch up some of their weaknesses.

But Celtics fans will be undeniably frustrated if the team cannot land their marquee free agent. Paul George and Jimmy Butler are now on Western Conference teams via trades. Blake Griffin re-signed on a massive deal with the Clippers. And we know the Celtics hesitated to make deadline-deals in order to preserve cap space.

Also last night, Kyle Lowry re-signed with Toronto on a 3 year/$100 million deal, and Paul Milsap is the latest all-star to head west, as he inked a 3 year/$90 million deal with the Denver Nuggets. While these deals may not directly impact Boston, we know Gordon Hayward is the last domino to fall, and the NBA world is waiting on Boston to make it’s power-move.

If Hayward passes on Boston, there is no all-star on the market. Danilo Galinari has been discussed as a potential short-term target. James Johnson could fit well in a Brad Stevens offense. Maybe they make a run at restricted free-agent JaMychal Green, or test the waters with Patrick Patterson.

All of those options would be a definite downgrade from Hayward. We know all the reasons why he should sign with Boston. At this point, it’s just a waiting game. The City of Boston is restless, angsty, and impatient, but hopefully we get good news within the next 48 hours.