NBA: 7 prime candidates to be traded during the 2020 offseason

NBA trade candidates: Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics

Another potential trade candidate stems from the Boston Celtics. Even though Gordon Hayward is coming off his best season since his gruesome lower leg injury, he’ll be on an expiring contract next season (assuming he doesn’t opt-out this summer) and is a contract that the Celtics could be looking to get an asset out of.

The likelihood of the Celtics re-signing him during the summer of 2021 is low. They’ll have to pay both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum big money soon and need to do everything they can to avoid doing so for a player that doesn’t even fit into their long-term plans.

The good news is that there’s a strong chance that Hayward will be desirable on the open market. He’s a veteran star that could help a willing team make a push towards contention. It’s the extension that should worry Boston, not his play.

Hayward will be coming off a season in which he averaged 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range. There will be a market for Hayward.