How the Thunder could benefit from Boston getting Gordon Hayward

Could Boston's acquisition of Gordon Hayward help the Thunder? AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Fileis going to the Boston Celtics. Besides the Thunder's Northwest division rival Utah losing its leading scorer, it could potentially help Oklahoma City even more.

In order to fit Hayward's reported four-year, $127 million contract on its books, Boston is going to have to do some salary cap gymnastics, namely finding teams willing to take on a player or more in trades.

That’s where the Thunder comes in.

The Thunder still has a $4.9 million trade exception left over from the deal which sent Ersan Ilyasova to Philadelphia for Jerami Grant. That money could be used in a trade to absorb the salary of one of…