Celtics Rumors: Gordon Hayward 'Wants Out' of Final Year of Contract Ahead of FA

Gordon Hayward is owed $34 million next season if he opts into the final season of his contract with the Boston Celtics, but he may test the free-agent waters instead.

On The Bill Simmons Podcast (starts at 56-minute mark), Ryen Russillo reported that Hayward "does want out" of his deal for the 2020-21 season.

As Ryan Bernadoni of the Locked On Celtics Podcast noted (h/t John Karalis of MassLive.com), Hayward wouldn't earn $34.2 million next season because of how the salary structure will likely be set up:

"[If a] player is gonna make $5 million, they don't actually get $5 million, necessarily. What they get is $5 million divided by all of the salaries paid in the season. It gives you a percentage, right? That's .07 percent of total salaries times half of revenue. And that's what you get. ...

... "If you're Gordon Hayward...I can think, well, I could bypass this year, I can opt out and re-sign for a longer term at lower dollars. The possible advantage is, if you're gonna lose 30 percent of your salary in one year, it's better to lose 30 percent of $20 million than 30 percent of $34 million."

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Players Association "will vote as soon as Thursday" on the NBA's proposed 72-game schedule with a start date of Dec. 22. He noted there is a "growing belief" among the players that a Christmas week start for the 2020-21 season is "inevitable."

The NBA has yet to officially set the salary cap for next season. That figure is still being negotiated with the NBPA, but ESPN's Bobby Marks reported on The Lowe Post podcast that teams have said the cap "will be no lower than $109 million" and could be as high as $111 million.

Until the league and players agree on the financial aspect of next season, there is no set deadline date for players to opt in to their contracts or test free agency.

Hayward could hit the market coming off his best season with the Celtics, where the 30-year-old averaged 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in 52 games and tied his career high with a 50.0 field-goal percentage.