If the rumors are as good as we’re hearing they are, this offseason for the Celtics could quietly be a huge one. They’ve got the number one overall pick, have oodles of cap space and put on an overall impressive showing this postseason, given their circumstances. They made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and won a game in Cleveland in the middle of a rebuild. Not too shabby, I suppose. They have their eyes set on presumably drafting Markelle Fultz and luring in a free agent, which there are a lot of out there: Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry and none other than Gordon Hayward, to name a few.
Hayward is easily the most plausible for the Celtics to sign, whether it be to a max contract or something pretty close to it. While bringing Hayward in doesn’t automatically take them to a seven-game ECF series versus the Cavaliers, it brings them a huge step closer to just that. Hayward’s notable and highlight-reel playmaking ability paired with his shooting and scoring abilities are what make him such a great and valuable player, especially in today’s NBA. Danny Ainge himself even said recently that the Celtics are two players away from legitimate championship contention, so it’s widely known at this point that they’re going to need Hayward plus someone else, whoever that may possibly end up being.
While it is silly that many are already declaring Hayward to Boston a foregone conclusion and that it has been for a while, it is reasonable to believe that it makes a whole lot of sense for him to don Celtics green next season. First and foremost, Hayward missed this year’s All-NBA cut, which is a fairly large blow to Utah’s chances at retaining their star forward. Keep in mind, though, Utah still has the ability to offer Hayward as much as 5 years, ~$150 million which is slightly more than Boston can offer at about 4 years, ~$120 million. Utah can also use the Larry Bird rules in this situation, as they would be able to exceed the salary cap and re-sign their own free agent up the max. Maybe this won’t factor in as largely as we might originally think, depending on what Hayward personally wants. If he’s like the majority of modern athletes, he’s fine with getting the big bucks and not giving a damn about where he plays or how bad his team is. Maybe he really wants to win, and really wants to win right now and is okay with taking a bit less to make that happen in a place like Boston. Whatever does happen this offseason will mainly have been Hayward’s decision.
Hayward is about to enter the prime of his career, as he is currently 26 years old. While the Celtics are currently a solid young team and are about to get younger and better, the Jazz aren’t a dumpster fire right now, which is kind of weird to say. Utah won 51 games last season, just two less than the Celtics, and notched a playoff spot in a terrifying Western Conference, building a solid offensive and defensive core and actually looking pretty impressive throughout the season. Hayward has been with the Jazz for four years now and has a sense of how things are going over there in Utah. Therefore, it’s all up to him whether he has enough faith and trust in the Jazz and the team they’ve assembled, wants to stay put and sign a somewhat more lucrative deal out West or land himself an immediate, guaranteed starting spot with a Celtics team that showed serious growth over the last year or so and still get maxed, but take slightly less yet have a better shot at winning right now. The answer seems rather obvious, but hey, I’m not Gordon Hayward. In my opinion, Hayward is better off becoming a free agent, sniff around the league a bit and sign (hopefully) with the Celtics and proceed to show off his skills in and to a more faithful and dedicated market like Boston that will push him to succeed. Over the last four seasons, Hayward as opened many eyes and established himself as one of the better stars in all of basketball. Unless he’s all about and only about the money and doesn’t care about winning sooner rather than later, it only makes sense for him to ink a deal with the Celts and take the next big step in his young career.
As I mentioned before, Hayward is entering the prime of his professional career and has shown that he has the ability to contribute to a contending team, showing tremendous upside and helping the Jazz evolve into a legitimately talented team out west. With that being said, whoever signs Hayward to whatever deal shows in the dollar amount just how they view the player he is and what they believe he is capable of, factoring in the team’s cap space, as well. For example, if the Celtics do indeed max him to say, 4 years, $120 million or so, they show that they think Hayward is a bonafide star and can help them raise banner number 18 as soon as possible. Hayward only becomes a more all-around improved, better player as the years go by, and the Celtics maxing him would show us that they think he’s going to play his very best basketball in Boston for however long that may be and for however much money, as well. I firmly believe that Hayward is a max contract player, being the offensive juggernaut that he is and has proven to be over the relatively short sample size we’ve seen.
One person who hasn’t seen a small sample size of Hayward is none other than Brad Stevens. Stevens coached Hayward when they were both at Butler and knows just the type of player and person he is. That type of connection does not possibly get any better when trying to bring in a free agent in today’s NBA. Not only does Stevens know what Hayward is like, Hayward knows what Stevens is like, too. I would have to make the assumption that any athlete’s first year with a new coach is an odd experience, because you don’t quite know what their tendencies or attitude is like, but this would not be the case if Hayward did come to Boston. Pair the Stevens/Hayward connection with the Celtics’ team and organization standpoint, and you have a match made in heaven.
While Hayward becoming a Celtic could arise potential starting lineup problems, this is where coach Stevens comes in. Brad has successfully dealt with that type of stuff his entire coaching career and is one of the best in the business at bringing out the best in his players under certain circumstances. He hasn’t had it easy in that department in his time in Boston, but he’s overcome such difficulties extremely well. Take Isaiah Thomas, for example. Ainge saw something in Thomas when he was a Sacramento King that the Kings failed to bring out of him. Thomas came over to Boston and quickly found his role, all thanks to Brad Stevens. While Hayward’s talent has already been put to great use, Stevens could potentially bring it to another level, considering the fact that the player entering his prime.
While I don’t believe that Hayward to Boston is 100 percent in the bag, I do believe that it’s fairly likely. Recent reports say that the Celtics’ current main point of focus is landing Gordon Hayward, and rightfully so. When you factor everything about this situation into it, it seriously makes way too much sense. I’ll admit, I’m more intrigued by Hayward than other fans, but it’s undeniable that Hayward would bring the team that much closer to knocking off Cleveland. If the Celtics keep their main core intact, draft Fultz, get some much needed rebounding help and help Hayward find a new home in Boston, the gap between the Cavs and the Celtics is tightened perhaps significantly.
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