In the hours leading up to Wednesday night’s NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly are interested in Boston Celtics veteran Gordon Hayward.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted in his “Hoop Collective” podcast that a potential deal could also involve Cavs center Andre Drummond, in addition to draft picks. The Cavaliers hold the fifth overall pick in the draft, while the Celtics have three first-round selections, though none higher than the 14th pick.
Hayward signed with the Celtics in 2017 but has struggled over the past three seasons, largely because of injuries.
The final year of his four-year contract with the Celtics is a player option, which will pay him $34.19 million for the 2020-21 season if he decides to exercise that option.
Hayward might prefer to be traded to another team that would be considered more of a contender than the Cavaliers, who have won only 19 games in each of the last two seasons.
Drummond was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade with the Detroit Pistons before the NBA trade deadline and recently chose to exercise his player option with the team for next season.
