The futures of Paul George and Gordon Hayward thrown into doubt by All-NBA vote
Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz stars Paul George and Gordon Hayward missed out on making the All-NBA team and could see their respective price tags affected as a result.
The All-NBA teams were announced today and, other than Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James not being unanimous first team selections, there weren’t very many surprises. In terms of stakes, the biggest selections came on the second and third teams where Kevin Durant, despite missing large portions of the season because of injury, and DeMar DeRozan where selected.
Those inclusions mean Paul George and Gordon Hayward were both left off. It’s not a huge surprise, as both players were right on the edge, but the results could have enormous ramifications.
George averaged a career best 23.7 points per game and also set a career high as he shot 46.1 percent from the field. Not at all a bad showing in his first year under coach Nate McMillan. In Utah, Hayward also set career highs with 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game en route to the Jazz winning their first playoff series since 2010.
That brings the conversation to both players’ respective contract statuses. Hayward can opt out of his four-year, $63 million contract this summer and not making All-NBA team means the Utah Jazz can not offer him a super-max deal. That takes away the advantage of them being able to offer him more money and a longer contract than any other team.
The NBA CBA allows top players to sign longer contracts super-max contracts if they have been named All-NBA at least twice, won an MVP award, or voted as an All-Star Game starter at least twice. These deals could be worth up to 35 percent of the salary cap. This means both Hayward and George are looking at significant losses in terms of guaranteed money on their next deal.
That said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Hayward opt-in for the final year of his deal depending, but that decision is still a little ways away. Even if he did opt out, he may decide to re-sign with Utah.
George’s situation in Indiana, however, is different. He can opt out of his contract at the end of next season and, similar to the Jazz, Indiana has just lost a big edge in the race to try and re-sign him. Unless Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard is active in free agency this summer and provides his star player a supporting cast, George could make clear that he is seeking greener pastures. That pressure may even force Indiana to trade him rather than risk losing him for nothing.
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The long and short of it is that both Gordon Hayward and Paul George are top players. But missing out on this recognition makes their future, and the futures of their current teams, much murkier.