Some key questions with the NBA offseason set to begin …
What now, Gordon Hayward?
Hayward ended weeks of speculation by opting out of the final year of his contract, leaving $34.2 million on the table. It’s impossible to believe Hayward would toss that winning lottery ticket if he didn’t feel confident there was a lucrative long term deal on the table. The Knicks cleared more than $30 million in cap space this week, and there is interest in Hayward, with head coach Tom Thibodeau among Hayward’s strongest internal advocates.
Hayward had a rough three years in Boston that began with a catastrophic ankle injury in year one, continued with a slow recovery in year two which was part of a truly dysfunctional ’18-19 season.