Photo Credit: Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports

All-NBA Teams Announced Thursday – Decisive For Gordon Hayward And Paul George’s Future

An NBA release from yesterday confirmed that the All-NBA teams will be announced this coming Thusday. We all know that the NBA will have their first annual award show on June 26, naming the league’s MVP, DPOY, ROTY, COTY and the 6th Man Award, the All-NBA Teams though, will be named Thurdsay.

I do not understand why they would separate it. I’m not a big fan of the planned award show, yet I understand that this will generate a lot of extra money for the league. But why not include the All-NBA Teams, if you’re already having such show? My only explanation is that they do not want to leave star players in uncertainty for this long.

More precisley; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward and Indiana Pacers forward Paul George.

For both, being awarded with an All-NBA Team spot, or not being awarded, will be game-chaning for their careers and future with the teams.

For Gordon Hayward, if he makes an All-NBA team, he would be eligible to option into the final year of his contract with the Utah Jazz and immediately sign a designated-veteran-player extension himself (players can receive a starting salary of 35% of the salary cap with just eight or nine years of experience, up from the usual 30% for players in the league that long. To qualify, a player must meet one of three criteria; Win MVP in any of the three seasons before signing; Win Defensive Player of the Year the season before signing or both of two seasons before that; Make an All-NBA team the season before signing or both of two seasons before that (via nbcsports)). It is very unlikely for Hayward to be opting out, if he makes an All-NBA team. If he doesn’t make an All-NBA team, opting out would be almost a certainty.

For Paul George, the rumors about him wanting to play in Los Angeles have been around for a very long time, but the rumors are turning into facts more and more. The only hope for the Indiana Pacers to keep George, is George himself making an All-NBA Team. George will become a free agent in 2018, and only if he makes an All-NBA team, the Pacers can give him the $210 million designated player contract (George would be making $70 million more than anyone else) this summer. He most likely would not turn down a deal like that. If he doesn’t make an All NBA Team, the Pacers have to consider trading him, maybe would even be forced to trade him. The risk would be too high to lose Paul George in the 2018 off season in return for nothing.

With LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the forwards for the first two teams are set, making the final two spots on the All-NBA Third Team a race between not only Gordon Hayward and Paul George, but also Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

Jazz and Pacers fans will have to hope for their player to make the team, if they want to see them play in their team colors next year.