Gordon Hayward Could Sign With the Miami Heat This Summer
Right now, All-Star forward Gordon Hayward is still a member of the Utah Jazz, but things are going to get pretty interesting if he opts out of the final year of his current contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
A lot of teams are going to go after him when he hits the open market, and the New York Daily News' Frank Isola has reported that he has heard "whispers" that if Hayward does not re-sign with the Jazz, he will seriously consider joining the Miami Heat.
Okay, playing in Florida is nice. There's no personal income tax and the weather is lovely. But are the Heat any better than the Jazz? Hayward wants to compete for a championship and his chances of winning are probably better with his current team.
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"Hayward leaving Utah for Miami wouldn't make much sense from a basketball perspective. The Heat are scraping by at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race, which is seen as a pleasant surprise given their roster composition," Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway said in his article.
"The Jazz are the West's No. 4 seed and are equipped with one of the league's best young nuclei. If they're able to rid some of their roster clutter for another elite player to pair with Hayward and Rudy Gobert, Utah could challenge the top teams in the conference," he continued.
Sure, people are going to argue that the Heat will become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference with him on their lineup. But is the road to the finals any easier in the East? Can the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics with Hayward? What about the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards?
On the other hand, the Jazz are currently fourth in the Western Conference standings and that's with Derrick Favors struggling the entire season. If he's healthy next season he should help them get more wins. Rudy Gobert has also developed into one of the best centers in the league.
If Hayward really wants to leave Utah to sign with a legitimate championship contender, he may as well join his college coach, Brad Stevens, at Boston.
