Blake Griffin emerging as Boston Celtics target could help Utah Jazz

Aside from Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics also reportedly have Blake Griffin in their sights, which could bode well for the Utah Jazz’s chances of retaining their All-Star.

Call it turning over a new leaf, but I’m back a second time today with some potential good news on the Gordon Hayward front. After reminding Utah Jazz fans this morning that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about him potentially staying put, a further development has arisen that could be a good sign for the Jazz.

According to a recent report from The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, not only is Gordon Hayward one of the Boston Celtics’ primary free agent targets this summer, but LA Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is also. The following is what Woj had to say on the matter:

"“Boston is really the danger for Blake Griffin. I think Boston’s two primary free-agent targets, right now, are Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin. Now, they’re not going to get both of them, but they’re both players that would potentially have interest there. I think Boston looks at in different ways with their future.”"

The key sentence here? – “Now they’re not going to get both of them.” In other words, if the Celtics end up feeling better about Griffin and he somehow becomes their top target, or if Griffin simply expresses a clear desire to play in Boston while Hayward is waffling, it could lead to the C’s opting to add him instead of Hayward, thus closing the door on what appears to be the most threatening Hayward suitor.

And Woj is almost certainly right that the Celtics won’t land both of them. Not only would it be monumental for one team to land two of the most coveted free agents in the same offseason, but financially speaking, if both players command a max contract, Boston would be hard-pressed to pay them both. The Celtics are in a great situation in terms of cap space, but not that great.

Even without re-signing any of their own current free agents, assuming Hayward and Griffin make a combined $60 million-plus next season, that would put Boston’s payroll at $130 million or more, easily surpassing both the salary cap and luxury tax limit.

Sure, Boston would likely try to move players to make room for any incoming stars, but aside from the hefty contract of Al Horford (another supposed key piece), there aren’t really any other deals they could move to create much space.

So adding both of them is likely out of the question, however, Gordon Hayward has long been the most mentioned target, so there’s also a case to be made that Hayward will still be the top priority whereas Griffin would be little more than a consolation prize. Quite frankly, though, if the Celtics are sold on Isaiah Thomas running the point, playing alongside a ball dominant guard such as him may not be all that ideal for Hayward, while Griffin could fit in quite nicely.

Not to mention, the Celtics are undoubtedly weak at the power forward position and could benefit from an upgrade there rather than from adding a second ball-handler such as Hayward who might not coexist all that well with Thomas. As Boston weighs and measures their plans and needs moving forward, Griffin could potentially turn out to be a better option for them.

Nevertheless, his injury woes are certainly a concern and while Griffin is a phenomenal player, his numbers have mostly stayed the same over the past there years whereas Gordon has shown significant improvement each year of his career. In other words, while Griffin may have largely plateaued, Hayward is still showing plenty of signs of growth and upside.

Therefore, while having another star-studded target to potentially divert the Celtics’ attention definitely could mean good news for the Jazz, especially given that Griffin would fill a very glaring position of need, it’s still more than likely that Hayward will remain their number one option.

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That doesn’t change the fact that it’s nice to get a break from Boston’s tireless pursuit of Hayward and learn that they have other major targets in their sights. And if Griffin is even able to distract Boston just enough to give the Jazz an extra opportunity to convince Gordon to stay, then that alone will turn out to be extremely good news.

Make no mistake about it, the Celtics are bound and determined to make some big moves this offseason, but hopefully they’ll end up involving Blake Griffin or some other big time star rather than the face of Utah’s franchise, Gordon Hayward.