The league’s All-NBA teams for the 2016-2017 regular season did not include Paul George of the Indiana Pacers or Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, which hampers their teams ability to offer them as big of a deal as they could have if their starts would have earned the recognition.
Why? Well, under the current CBA, there’s a clause called the designated veteran extension, which depends on a player making an All-NBA team in the year before he signs the extension, or in two of the previous three years. This applies to players finishing their rookie-scale extensions, which is the case for both Hayward and George. Hayward has a player option for next year, but as it’s only $16.7 million, he’ll waive it and hit the market while entertaining an offer from the Jazz. George has one more year on his deal with the Pacers, but they’re likely to offer him an extension, much like the Rockets gave James Harden and the Thunder signed Russell Westbrook to last season.
The difference between having the DVE and not can be substantial. A player eligible for the DVE can sign for up to 35% of his team’s salary cap, which is estimated to be $101 million next season. For example, the Warriors can sign Stephen Curry to $35 million in 2018-2019, while without the DVE it’ll be just over $30 million, based on the scale, pointing to 30% of the salary cap. The Pacers and Jazz can still offer George and Hayward 5 year deals with an 8% raise instead of 4-year deals with a 5% raise, but it does hurt their ability to price their star players out of the market.
Hayward, 27, made the All-Star game for the first time in his career this season, averaging 21.9 points and shooting 39.8% from beyond the arc. He helped the Jazz to the second round of the playoffs, only his second postseason appearance since entering the league. George seemed to stagnate this year after an impressive comeback season, averaging 23.7 points per game and making his fourth All-Star game. He and the Pacers got swept in the first round by the Cavaliers and LeBron James, and he’s been linked to trades since the middle of the season, especially to the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The Boston Celtics have also been linked to Hayward.