Gordon Hayward Declines $34.2M Celtics Player Option, Will Test Free Agency

Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has declined his $34.2 million player option for the 2020-21 season, Hayward's agent Mark Bartelstein told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.

Hayward has spent the last three seasons in Boston. Signed to a four-year max contract in 2017, Hayward's career with the Celtics never got a chance to take off after he suffered a serious ankle injury during his first game with the franchise.

The injury cost him the entire 2017-18 season and left him clearly limited in a rocky 2018-19 campaign. Hayward began returning to form last season, averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds  and 4.1 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field in a far more harmonious Celtics locker room.

Boston made it to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Miami Heat in six games.

Hayward exercising his option was considered one of the biggest no-brainers of the offseason. With so few teams around the league having available salary-cap space, Hayward isn't likely to match his $34.2 million salary in 2020-21. Teams will likely spend the offseason spending conservatively because of the coronavirus pandemic, and players have responded in turn by largely opting into their deals for the 2020-21 season.

Hayward instead chose to potentially close the chapter on his time in Boston, though it's possible he will re-sign with the Celtics on a longer-term deal with a lower yearly salary.