As the Boston Celtics continue to find ways to create cap space for the signing of Gordon Hayward, an unlikely team has emerged as a partner to help them resolve that issue.

The Utah Jazz are apparently still open to do a sign-and-trade that will allow the C’s to add the 27-year-old's $128 million salary to their books, according to Tony Jones and Aaron Folk of The Salt Lake Tribune. In exchange, the Jazz will be able to shed a few salaries and also create enough cap space for their signings this summer.

“Utah could sign Hayward to a new max deal and then send him to Boston in exchange for one of those contracts.”

“The Jazz would almost certainly have to include additional assets to entice the Celtics to make a deal, rather than finding other partners in their quest to shed contracts.”

“…But because teams are allowed to go over the cap to sign their own players, a sign-and-trade with Boston would allow the Jazz to bring back up to about $30 million in contracts and trade exceptions.”

This development goes to show that the Jazz have now accepted the loss of their former All-Star forward, and are preparing for their future without him. The signing of rookie Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles‘ commitment to continue his career in Salt Lake City meant that they already have depth at the shooting guard position, while also having players capable of playing the three spot depending on matchups. However, they are also included in a lot of chatter about pursuing a free agent small forward, who can fill the void left by Hayward even more.

Should they go after another free agent this summer, that's where the additional cap space will come into play. After seeing Hayward leave without getting anything in return, the Jazz would be smart to push for a sign-and-trade.