NBA Insider ‘Very Confident’ About Gordon Hayward’s Status Ahead Of Trade Deadline

There are some rumblings with the Celtics as Thursday’s NBA trade deadline nears, but it appears Gordon Hayward won’t be involved in any deals.

During a recent appearance on ESPN’s “The Lowe Post” podcast, league insider Brian Windhorst effectively nixed the idea of Hayward being moved over the coming days.

If Windhorst’s report is correct, this likely means Boston is out of the running for Andre Drummond. It was reported over the weekend the C’s were among the teams with the “strongest interest” in the star center, but Hayward likely would need to be involved in the deal in order to match salaries. Monday’s report about Boston being interested in Houston Rockets center Clint Capela also seemingly indicates Danny Ainge and Co. have moved on from Drummond.

Hayward is in the penultimate season of the four-year contract he signed with Boston in the summer of 2017. The 29-year-old has a player option for the final year of the deal, and should he opt in, he’ll be owed just over $34 million for the 2020-21 campaign, per Spotrac.