DAL OFFSEASON: Trade & FA | Mavs "mostly done...but you never know."

[KillerLeft]

So I think you would need Gordon communicating that he is opting out and thus having leverage over the Celtics. If he opts in he has no leverage really. If he opts out and wants to play for Dallas then I guess Dallas could see if they could negotiate a deal with the Celtics that they like better than just getting cap back for Hayward. In that scenario a THJ/Maxi package could look better than just cap savings which have no real benefit for them this year anyway.

So this is part of the "leverage" picture, but not all of it.

What if:

• Hayward and his agent have a price in mind on a 3-4 year deal.
  
• Boston likes him, but doesn't want to pay him that price.
  
• Understanding the two points above, Hayward's agent knows that Boston will look to trade his expiring contract the second he opts in. The whole world suspects this.
  
• But, Hayward doesn't WANT to go to "wherever" they'd send him, especially since there's a chance the new team would view him simply as a stepping stone to cap space, or even worse - simply reducing payroll. If he cares about basketball AT ALL, I'd say he's at a point in his career where this uncertainty would bother him. At the very least, it's potentially a waste of a full year of his career. I think we, as fans, tend to gloss over how much these guys must HATE being traded. 
  
• If Hayward can't get the deal he wants from Boston, he could opt in, get traded, whatever, then hit the market in 2021. But, what if it's true that his agent thinks the right teams are interested NOW, and without other free agents distracting them the way they might next season. What if ONE of those teams (not Dallas) CAN offer a healthy contract without doing a sign and trade? 
  
• Remind yourself, again, that this guy is the definition of a dude who's likely looking to sign a 3-4 year deal at his FIRST possible opportunity. 
  

See how Hayward does have a LITTLE leverage here? It's literally called a "player option." There's a limited window of time to decide, obviously. Again, the second Boston offers him a new contract he likes, this dream ends. But, if he's truly willing to OPT OUT instead of letting them trade him "wherever," he does have ample leverage. 

I'm telling you, IF Dallas is willing to pay him more than Boston and he WANTS to play here, there's a decent chance this could be a fit between all three parties. All we know for absolute certain is that the deal would have to be more than $34 million TOTAL, otherwise he'd just opt in. No brainer. I'd think it would have to quite a bit more, tbh. Three years at $20 million per? Total speculation, but I can understand how Dallas would pay that and Boston wouldn't.