According to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, the Indiana Pacers are still interested in Gordon Hayward:
Indiana continues to explore sign-and-trade pathways to try acquire Gordon Hayward from Boston, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 20, 2020
The Knicks, as covered here yesterday, remain a suitor for Hayward with their salary-cap space
The Pacers have long been thought of as an option for Hayward in a sign-and-trade and, as Stein reports, still could be. Of course, we know the Knicks are also in play with available cap space. Atlanta has also been rumored to be a landing spot for the free agent.
Indiana, however, could be a lot more interesting from the Celtics’ point of view. Unlike New York, the Pacers don’t have the ability to sign Hayward outright, meaning Boston would be able to recoup some of the value from Hayward deciding to take his talents to the midwest.
A week ago, it was reported that the Celtics and Pacers were discussing a possible swap of Hayward for Myles Turner, a deal that would also include “other pieces.”
Acquiring a big man as talented as Turner, who, at 24, also fits the team’s timeline a lot better would certainly soften the blow of losing Hayward.
Free agency doesn’t begin until 6 pm ET later this evening, and it could still be days before this gets resolved.