If Gordon Hayward picks up his 2020-21 player option with the Boston Celtics, he could get traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Andre Drummond, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Hayward's player option is worth $34.2 million. Drummond has already exercised his player option for the 2020-21 season.
“Something I've been hearing across the league the last few days is while we don't know how the Gordon Hayward situation is going to shake out, something that could be possible is a Gordon Hayward-Andre Drummond swap,” Mannix said, via NBC Sports Boston.
“That's something that a lot of league execs I've been talking to have discussed.”
Gordon Hayward will enter unrestricted free agency if he declines his player option. The Celtics would probably try and work out a sign-and-trade deal involving Hayward should the small forward leave Boston so they get something in return for the former Utah Jazz All-Star.
There have been rumors going around that Hayward is upset with his role on the Celtics, who lost to the Miami Heat in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals in six games at Walt Disney World in the NBA bubble.
During the 2019-20 season, Hayward averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from beyond the arc and 85.5 percent from the free-throw line. He's been bitten by the injury bug ever since he signed with the Celtics in 2017.
Andre Drummond played for the Detroit Pistons and Cavs in 2019-20. Cleveland acquired the rebounding machine at the 2020 trade deadline. He appeared in eight games with the Cavs and put up 17.5 points and 11.1 rebounds.