Timberwolves Free Agency: Gordon Hayward
A Gordon Hayward signing would put the Minnesota Timberwolves over the playoff hump.
Gordon Hayward is one of the best small forwards in the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves have the chance to sign him this offseason.
Hayward has a player-option for next season with Utah, which he’s yet to accept or decline.
After his performance with the Jazz the last two seasons, Hayward could easily expect to command larger than the $16.7million he’s reportedly contracted for next season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will presumably have a gap in the small-forward department as Shabazz Muhammad’s contract expires this offseason.
Similarly, Omri Casspi is no longer signed with the team.
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However, neither Hayward or current starting small forward Andrew Wiggins are likely to accept a bench role – and nor should they.
One option for the Timberwolves could be to follow Golden State’s small-ball tactic, sending Dieng to the bench.
A Timberwolves lineup with Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Wiggins, Hayward and Karl-Anthony Towns on the court could spell bad news for the opposition.
Another alternative is to shift LaVine to the bench and leave Gorgui Dieng in the rotation. This would result in a bigger presence on the court but could slow down our offense.
Throughout the past regular season, Hayward averaged 21.9 points in 34.5 minutes per game, starting all 73 of his outings.
Hayward also contributed on the boards, with 5.4 rebounds per game, and found his teammates for 3.5 assists per game.
The Utah forward was selected to his first All-star game this year, representing the Western Conference.
Oh, did I mention he creates highlights like these?
Yeah, not a bad player to have in Minnesota.
Should the Timberwolves look to pursue Hayward, it would likely come at a big hit to the salary cap.
Hayward has a young family, with his second child born last year. It would likely take a lot to convince him and his wife to uproot their family to move to another state. One thing that might sway Howard is a long-contract, which is almost certainly the only kind Hayward will be signing this offseason.
However, The Timberwolves have some cap space to work with, especially if Nikola Pekovic is ruled medically unfit to ever return to the NBA.
It is possible the Wolves could put together a nice deal for Hayward to lure him to a future playoff-contender in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves will have some money to spend this offseason, and it comes down to Thibodeau and the rest of the front office’s vision for this young team.
Next: Patty Mills' fit with the Timberwolves
Let me know in the comments what free agents YOU would like to see in Minnesota next year.