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SALT LAKE CITY — According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Gordon Hayward has notified the Utah Jazz that he has declined the player option for the final year of his contract, as expected, and will become a free agent on July 1.
Hayward will now decide whether he'll sign a deal with the Utah Jazz, the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. Hayward will meet with front office representatives from the Heat on July 1, the Celtics on July 2 and the Jazz on July 3 before making a decision. Hayward can't officially sign a contract with any team until July 7, though news of his intention to sign will likely be known before then.
Hayward opted out of his $16.7 million final year of the contract he signed in 2014, though will receive maximum offers from the three teams starting at about $30 million per season. Thanks to new NBA rules, Hayward has many choices for his next contract, including signing a short one-year deal that would provide him the flexibility of signing a "super-max" contract starting at $35 million in the future.
Only Utah can offer him a five-year deal; other NBA teams are limited to four years.
"Because of the city, the organization, the level of the team, Quin (Snyder), the development staff, and Rudy (Gobert), we're confident," Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said about his feeling about keeping his incumbent free agents Hayward and George Hill. "We'll find out if it's over-confident or appropriately placed."
Hayward was named an All-Star for the first time this season, during a campaign in which he averaged 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. In the playoffs, Hayward averaged 24.1 points per game in 11 contests. But it wasn't quite enough to earn Hayward All-NBA honors, which would have allowed the Jazz to sign him to a "Designated Veteran Player" extension this summer.
This article will be updated throughout the afternoon.
