The average NBA salary last year was about $7 million, and even players making the minimum still earned about $1.62 million. Most current contracts also come with player or team options. If the player or team is unhappy with a situation, wants to move on, or is looking to re-negotiate a deal, they can opt out and seek greener pastures.
Forward Gordon Hayward just made such a move. It's one of the rare instances in life where turning down more than $34 million is a good thing. Hayward declined his player option with the Boston Celtics, which would have paid him $34.2 million. Instead, he signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets.
Hayward will take a small pay cut next year but will earn a lot more money in the long run. Additionally, he gets out of a situation that was rocky from the start. Hayward signed a four-year, $127.8 million deal with the Celtics in 2017. However, just six minutes into his first game, he suffered a severe foot and ankle injury, missing the rest of that season and struggling during the 2018-19 season.
This past year, Hayward averaged solid numbers with 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 52 games. However, injuries still plagued him, as he broke a bone in his hand in November and experienced nerve pain in his foot in December. When the NBA resumed play in the bubble at Disney World, he sprained his ankle during the Celtics' first playoff game. He eventually returned in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Celtics fell to the Miami Heat in six games.
After missing a mere 42 games in seven seasons with the Utah Jazz, Hayward missed a total of 142 games in only three seasons in Boston. This new contract offers him a fresh start in a different environment. In fact, Hayward tried to sign with Charlotte in 2014 but was kept in Salt Lake City when the Jazz matched the Hornets' offer. Now, nearly seven years later, he will finally get to play for the Hornets.
Meanwhile, the Celtics will continue to rebuild after losing two max contract players in the past two years. Kyrie Irving also left Boston to join the Brooklyn Nets via free agency last offseason.
