Three Eastern Conference rumors that could affect Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz

Rumor #1: Cavs will shake up roster if they lose Finals in 4 or 5 games

It’s no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled thus far in the NBA Finals as they find themselves in a quick 0-2 hole. Yes, that’s the exact same deficit that they were in last year, but for some reason things just feel different this year and the Cavs’ outlook appears bleak at best.

With that being said, on Monday, ESPN’s Chris Haynes stated that he believes that if the Cavs lose the series in four or five games, they could very well look to shake up or revamp their roster. Here’s what Haynes had to say on “The Jim Rome Show”:

"“I think in years past – say last year’s for say – if the Warriors close out that series and won the Finals four-games-to-one, there’s no doubt in my mind Kevin Love would not have been back. There’s no doubt in my mind and so I think that’s the same case…[So] if the Warriors are to get this series over within four or five, I would expect Cleveland to make some moves.”"

As far as who they would look to add, Haynes mentioned the possibility of Chris Paul, a long-time friend of LeBron James and an impending free agent, as well as Carmelo Anthony, who was in fact brought up in trade rumors surrounding Kevin Love earlier in the season. In other words, if either of those were to be the case, it would involve the Cavs aiming to become even more of a super team in order to be able to do battle with the league’s current premier super team.

Depending on what comes of this rumor, it could have an effect on Gordon Hayward and the Jazz. Some have speculated that Hayward may favor going to the Eastern Conference as a way to avoid the Golden State Warriors until a potential Finals meeting. However, LeBron’s domination of that conference truly hasn’t made either path to a championship look all that easy.

However, if a Finals blowout leads to the Cavs making major changes, depending on what those are, it could change the appeal of joining an upper-tier team like the Celtics. For example, if the Cavs retool and add a superstar to their midst only further solidifying Cleveland’s hold over the Eastern Conference, then going to the Celtics only to run into King James once again wouldn’t make much sense for Hayward over his current opportunity and Utah’s bright future.

On the other hand, if the Cavs decide to retool but aren’t able to land quite the caliber of guys that they might have hoped, then Hayward could potentially see them as vulnerable and decide that his addition to the Celtics could be enough to tip the scale and result in the long overdue dethroning of LeBron. Hayward has made it clear that winning is his top priority and any indication of a shift in power in the Eastern Conference could end up being quite appealing.

True, regardless of which conference he’s in, to win a championship he’ll more than likely have to defeat the Warriors at some point, but at least in the East there would be an easier path to the actual Finals (assuming Cleveland could be stopped) thus naturally increasing the overall odds for a title.

Nevertheless, if Cleveland does go through a shake-up, I have a hard time seeing it being anything but successful. And if they don’t make much of a change, I still don’t see them taking much of a step backwards as long as James is healthy.

Therefore, assuming that Hayward would be able to push an Eastern team to the next level to be able to topple the Cavs is a bit of a stretch no matter what comes of this rumor. Unless of course he becomes the very player Cleveland retools with, but I’d consider that a long shot.

With that being the case, for the Jazz’s sake, hopefully the Cavs do shake up their roster to a degree where Hayward feels better off continuing to improve what he’s built in Utah and becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference rather than changing conferences to do battle with LeBron and the Cavaliers.