Heat await Hayward decision
Free agent forward took last meeting with Jazz
ORLANDO — The coasts have been flipped, with the issue now whether the Utah Jazz can keep free-agent forwardGordonHayward fromflipping allegiances.
After meetings hosted by theMiamiHeat on Saturday and the Boston Celtics on Sunday, the free-agent forward shifted the process to hisSanDiegohomefor aMonday session expected to conclude his interviews. ESPN reported Monday’s session with the Jazz lasted 3 hours.
The timing puts Hayward on the same schedule asKevinDurant a year ago, when the then-Oklahoma City Thunder forward completed his interviews, including one with the Heat, on July 3 and then made a July 4 announcement that he was joining the Golden StateWarriors.
Neither the Heat nor the Celtics commented on their sessions with Hayward, who also has remained mum on those sessions.
Most of the top-tier free agents have already made their free-agent commitments, with Durant re-uppingMonday with Golden State, Blake Griffin remaining with the Los Angeles Clippers, Paul Millsap moving on to theDenverNuggets, theToronto Raptors retaining Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, and Stephen Curry agreeing with theWarriors on the largest contract inNBA history.
That leaves Hayward at the top of the remaining class, with the best of the remaining free-agency lot including Danilo Gallinari, Otto Porter, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nerlens Noel,