The NBA offseason won't be much of one in 2020.
The 2019-20 NBA season is expected to resume July 30 with the postseason stretching into early October, as Game 7 of the NBA Finals could be held as late as Oct. 12.
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According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the deadline for some of the NBA's biggest stars to opt into their 2020-21 contracts is just days after the season ends -- and Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is among those stars.
Hayward would make $34.2 million on the final year of his four-year, $128 million contract if he opted in, a decision he must make by Oct. 17, per Charania.
As our Celtics Insider Chris Forsberg recently explained, Hayward has good reason to opt in and take that hefty paycheck. The 30-year-old was playing well before the coronavirus pandemic paused the 2019-20 season but still hasn't returned to All-Star form after suffering a devastating ankle injury in October 2017.
The pandemic also could limit teams' ability to spend big in free agency, so Hayward may be better off taking a guaranteed paycheck from Boston rather than test an uncertain 2020 free-agent market.
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Anthony Davis' situation also is worth monitoring, as the Lakers star could opt to leave Los Angeles after just one season. Davis' opt-in deadline is a few days before Hayward's, and if he chooses free agency, he'd be the clear top player on the market.
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