Gordon Hayward could emerge as an offseason target for the Indiana Pacers
Over the past couple of seasons, the Indiana Pacers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in the Eastern Conference. Before the hiatus, even without Victor Oladipo for much of the 2019-20 season, the Pacers had the fifth-best record in the East while being just 2.5 games back of the second seed.
With Oladipo rounding back into shape, the Pacers were going to be one of the toughest outs in the East playoffs. Whether it be in the 4-5 or 3-6 matchup, the Pacers were set to evolve into a true dark horse in the East.
Assuming that the season restarts next month, that will still be the case. However, heading into the offseason, the Pacers are still a piece or two away from true contention in the East. According to a recent report, there’s a scenario in which current Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward could emerge as an offseason target for the Pacers.
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How Gordon Hayward could emerge as a target for the Indiana Pacers
Hayward was signed to a max deal by the Celtics during the summer of 2017. Minutes into his tenure with the Celtics, he was lost to the season after suffering a gruesome lower leg injury. While he has still never fully recovered from such injury, Hayward has shown glimpses of his old self through the last couple of seasons.
This year, Hayward was averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range. Hayward may have not been back to his all-star status, but he’s was looking more and more like his old self.
With a player-option for the 2020-21 season, Hayward will have the ability to hit the free agency market should he choose to do so. However, in such uncertain times, that could bring about more questions than answers for Hayward’s future.
In essence, Hayward could elect to either test free agency during the 2020 offseason (which will certainly be impacted, one way or another, by the current pandemic) or roll the dice and try to secure a long-term deal during the summer of 2021, which will be littered by many other big-name free agents.
Either way, free agency is often a gamble. If Hayward wanted to secure a long-term deal sooner rather than later, or if he simply wants a change of scenery, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Hayward to enter the free-agent market this year.
Depending on what type of deal he’d be seeking, it could open the door for a team like the Pacers. Hayward would be an asset for any team and would provide the Pacers with another veteran star to help get them over the top in the East.
It’s tough to say how much adding Gordon Hayward would impact the Pacers or whether they could theoretically make it all happen, but he’s nonetheless an interesting name to follow heading into the offseason.