The Atlanta Hawks are in play in an attempt to acquire Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. A sign-and-trade deal is a possible route, but Atlanta is equipped with the most cap space in the league at around $44 million and can simply sign Hayward to a hefty multi-year deal if he decided to decline his option. Hayward, 30, has plenty of interest, sources said.

He had a deadline of Nov. 17 to decide his course, but both sides have agreed to push the deadline back to Nov. 19. This move is to provide more time for talks to continue on how to move forward, sources said.

Source: Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports

ANALYSIS: It looks like the Hawks are serious about putting some more talent around their All-Star Trae Young and company to take a significant step forward in Atlanta. Hayward is an established veteran with playmaking abilities, off-ball skills and shooting prowess that would complement Young and take some of the load off the young superstar point guard.

Hayward is coming off arguably his best season with the Celtics since his final year in Utah. He averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.