NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 potential destinations for Gordon Hayward
By John Buhler
Miami Heat
East, Southeast
Though it may not be as fruitful in the short-term as it would be with the Boston Celtics, it might be a better play long-term for Hayward to join Pat Riley in South Beach to play for the Miami Heat. Riley will do his patented drop all the rings on the table sales pitch. He’ll surely mention that there is no state income tax in Florida.
Hayward is in his late 20s and has just entered his prime as a ball player. Joining a team in Miami with the likes of point guard Goran Dragic, center Hassan Whiteside and maybe even shooting guard extraordinaire Dion Waiters could be enticing while Riley begins to build a championship contender around Hayward.
Miami has shown under Riley that the Heat organization can attract top-tier free agents like Hayward with great regularity. This is something Boston tends to struggle with and Utah always struggles with. No team can become a championship contender quicker in one summer than the Heat. Even Boston still needs a few things to go their way as well as landing Hayward in free agency.
Should Hayward go to the Heat, he becomes the new face of the franchise. Dragic, Waiters and Whiteside are all solid, but aren’t exactly All-Stars in the inferior Eastern Conference. Hayward would get to play for one of the better coaches in the game in Erik Spoelstra. Give it a year or two, but Riley will deliver Hayward another star in free agency, possibly two.
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Overall, Miami gives Hayward the opportunity to win a ton of games, be a star player in a major media market, face little pressure doing so and pay no state income taxes. It’ll be awfully hard to say no to all those Riley rings being dropped on that table.