Gordon Hayward 2020: I'm standing here in pieces and you're having delusions of grandeur!

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wade boggs chicken dinner

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The only complicating factor is that he has to know that opt-ing basically guarantees that he gets traded to a random destination next season without any say, right?

There’s no way Ainge lets that salary slot go to waste if Hayward isn’t totally killing it on the court. And I don’t think there will be any negative PR fallout: the Celtics have held up their end of the bargain with GH and then some, and the whole league knows it.
If the Cs are better next year, why would they trade GH during the season?

I don't envy DA's decision with respect to GH. if the team and Gh do well, maybe The Cs can do with GH what they tried to do with Al - sign him to a reduced annual value multi-year contract to preserve both player asset and salary slot.
 

lovegtm

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If the Cs are better next year, why would they trade GH during the season?

I don't envy DA's decision with respect to GH. if the team and Gh do well, maybe The Cs can do with GH what they tried to do with Al - sign him to a reduced annual value multi-year contract to preserve both player asset and salary slot.
Because things seem really uncertain wrt his long-term health and ability to be consistent, and they will have a 22%, 25%, and 30% salary on the books starting the next year?

(To be clear, I'm talking about the scenario in which he opts in. If for whatever reason he decides to do 4/80 or something, that's probably a risk worth taking.)
 

Light-Tower-Power

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Most ominous headline ever?

Boston Celtics Gordon Hayward won’t blame play on sore foot: ’it’s not going to be the reason. At least not yet.’

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/01/boston-celtics-gordon-hayward-wont-blame-play-sore-foot-its-not-going-to-be-the-reason-at-least-not-yet.html
So, as we thought, it is bothering him. And it's probably the reason why he's struggling. I don't know what else to say other than this sucks. IANAD but if it has required multiple cortisone shots just for him to play I don't see how it's going to improve.
 

lexrageorge

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The article linked above focuses on his streaky field goal shooting, but really misses the fact that Hayward is simply not getting to the free throw line. That seems likely to be a direct result of the foot issue, and it is concerning. If it is a nerve issue, shutting him down probably will not help, so there's probably nothing to be done but to see how well he can play through it.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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The forlorn look on his face as he looked up toward the basket after missing the layup off the lob pretty much says it all.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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I feel really bad for him at this point. I’m sure he’s in pain, he’s trying as hard as he can, but he just doesn’t have it and it seems like it is in his head now.
 

128

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I didn't watch the game in real time, but I taped it and watched Hayward's unfortunate last-minute miss this morning.

Clearly, that sucked for him (and for the C's, who still had a chance at a miraculous comeback), and clearly his foot is bothering him. But I've seen other good players inexplicably miss wide-open layups, so it's not unprecedented. And he ended up with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. That was much less troubling to me than his performance against the Bucks.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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He is early contract Horford or JD Drew at this point. Like those guys, he will never measure up to what are likely unrealistic expectations. He wasn't ever likely to be the team's top scorer at an elite level in terms of efficiency, even without the injury.

Unfortunately, for the people who are done with him - and perhaps Hayward himself if he reads social media - he is here through the end of the season at least.

Smarf is right though - Hayward's missed lob wasn't the reason the Cs lost to the Suns in Boston. Most of the rest of their thin rotation just couldn't score at a decent rate. But for some people, this lob will be it.
 

lovegtm

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He is early contract Horford or JD Drew at this point. Like those guys, he will never measure up to what are likely unrealistic expectations. He wasn't ever likely to be the team's top scorer at an elite level in terms of efficiency, even without the injury.

Unfortunately, for the people who are done with him - and perhaps Hayward himself if he reads social media - he is here through the end of the season at least.

Smarf is right though - Hayward's missed lob wasn't the reason the Cs lost to the Suns in Boston. Most of the rest of their thin rotation just couldn't score at a decent rate. But for some people, this lob will be it.
It was a metonymic lob that stands in for all Hayward frustrations.

Agree they have scoring issues without Kemba, but this team needs to find a defensive identity and fast or they’re in big trouble. That cost them way more than anything else yesterday and against Detroit. Kemba’s a minus defender, so that’s no excuse.
 

Strike4

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I wonder if last night's game is what we can reasonably expect from Hayward going forward: really good quarter (first) and then mostly a kind of all-around supporting player, with some moments where he looked totally overmatched on both ends. He wasn't a black hole but I don't think he's currently a player we can look to to carry the team for a short in-game stretch when Tatum, Brown or Walker are faltering on offense.

It's somewhat disappointing and I wonder what's going on injury-wise. Hayward shot a floater that front rimmed and it looked like he jumped about six inches off the floor - almost like he thought his legs would give him more. There were also a couple times when he had his shot blocked in close and he ended up on the floor, which is usually the sign of a stronger player on defense.
 

DJnVa

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Your view is entirely fair.

I would just add that Hayward's inconsistency on the offensive end is something you see from a lot of players, some of them elite, in the league.
Yeah, we hear about this "inconsistency" from Hayward, but no one actually says what it is and if he really is any more inconsistent than other players.

Percentage of games with shooting percentage below 40%:

Tatum: 36.6%
Walker: 35.1%
Hayward: 25.0%
Brown: 22.2%

Others:
Butler: 36.6%
Beal: 40.0%

So, what exactly are we talking about here? How is Hayward's "inconsistency" an issue when he seems to have fewer bad shooting games than Tatum and Walker and clearly adds a lot beside shooting?
 
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Light-Tower-Power

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I wonder if last night's game is what we can reasonably expect from Hayward going forward: really good quarter (first) and then mostly a kind of all-around supporting player, with some moments where he looked totally overmatched on both ends. He wasn't a black hole but I don't think he's currently a player we can look to to carry the team for a short in-game stretch when Tatum, Brown or Walker are faltering on offense.

It's somewhat disappointing and I wonder what's going on injury-wise. Hayward shot a floater that front rimmed and it looked like he jumped about six inches off the floor - almost like he thought his legs would give him more. There were also a couple times when he had his shot blocked in close and he ended up on the floor, which is usually the sign of a stronger player on defense.
And he also had a drive where he split two defenders and went in for an uncontested dunk and looked good doing it. I think all we can expect moving forward is consistent inconsistency in how he looks athletically.
 

Nator

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I wonder if last night's game is what we can reasonably expect from Hayward going forward: really good quarter (first) and then mostly a kind of all-around supporting player, with some moments where he looked totally overmatched on both ends. He wasn't a black hole but I don't think he's currently a player we can look to to carry the team for a short in-game stretch when Tatum, Brown or Walker are faltering on offense.

It's somewhat disappointing and I wonder what's going on injury-wise. Hayward shot a floater that front rimmed and it looked like he jumped about six inches off the floor - almost like he thought his legs would give him more. There were also a couple times when he had his shot blocked in close and he ended up on the floor, which is usually the sign of a stronger player on defense.
If he's going to be the Celtics 3rd or 4th best guy on most nights, I'm OK with 16-6-4 while shooting just over 50%.
 

lovegtm

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Yeah, we hear about this "inconsistency" from Hayward, but no one actually says what it is and if he really is any more inconsistent than other players.

Percentage of games with shooting percentage below 40%:

Tatum: 36.6%
Walker: 35.1%
Hayward: 25.0%
Brown: 22.2%

Others:
Butler: 36.6%
Beal: 40.0%

So, what exactly are we talking about here? How is Hayward's "inconsistency" an issue when he seems to have fewer bad shooting games than Tatum and Walker and clearly adds a lot beside shooting?
He’s always going to have good shooting %s: he has a smooth jumper and picks his spots, also gets backdoor cuts etc.

The inconsistency comes in the form of floating offensively, not being able to get to the rim and draw contact, etc. It’s fairly obvious when it’s happening.
 

Kliq

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If the Celtics are going to be title contenders, it is going to be because they have at any given time, at least three guys on the floor that can score and create their own shot from the guard/wing position. The Clippers have three when they play Lou Will, no other team really has four at the level of Kemba/Tatum/Brown/Hayward. That is why I am against trading Hayward under most circumstances, even a diminished/inconsistent Hayward is a better scorer and playmaker than anyone they could get in return. The Celtics path to victory is not that they have the best individual players, but that they have the best scoring depth. Time and time again we have seen dominant regular season teams that hinge on one or two players get beaten in the playoffs because defenses zone in on those singular players and the rest of the guys aren't good enough to step up. The Celtics don't need Hayward to be Utah Hayward, they need him to hit open shots, attack closeouts and find guys on cuts to the basket.
 

DJnVa

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The Celtics don't need Hayward to be Utah Hayward, they need him to hit open shots, attack closeouts and find guys on cuts to the basket.
But here's what's interesting.

Hayward's advanced numbers this year are on par with, and in many cases better, than his last year in Utah.

TS%: .590 now vs .595 then
EFG%: 56.4% now vs. 53.6% then
REB%: 10.0% now vs. 9.0% then
AST%: 19.7% now vs. 18.2% then
BLK%: 1.2% now vs. 0.6% then

So, his shooting numbers are essentially a wash, but he rebounds more, gets more assists, blocks more shots.

His three point numbers are down, and he doesn't shoot as many FTs. But his ORtg this year is higher than any year in Utah. But he doesn't dunk enough any more I guess. Despite fewer dunks his 2PT% is a lot higher.

It *seems* like he's more efficient now and some folks want to trade that for a few more dunks and FTs. You know why he scores less? Because he has Kemba and Jaylen and Jayson. His usage is down, because that was the entire idea. Just as with Kemba.
 
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RetractableRoof

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There were a couple of times against LAL that it looked like the LAL intentionally worked the rotations so make sure they ended with a mismatch on Haywire. I guess it makes sense, if you are going to try to create a mismatch, you'd go looking for Haywire (or Kemba) versus trying to go through Smart, Brown, or Tatum. Just an observation, no fault found.
 

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They also ran:
1) "Give it to whatever big is on Theis", and sometimes it worked but sometimes it didn't, and
2) "Give it to Lebron and let him find the right drive or pass", which worked frequently but he may have lacked the bandwidth to really do that as much as he needed to. Which felt odd, because his Usage rate is unchanged from the last decade.
 

lovegtm

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They also ran:
1) "Give it to whatever big is on Theis", and sometimes it worked but sometimes it didn't, and
2) "Give it to Lebron and let him find the right drive or pass", which worked frequently but he may have lacked the bandwidth to really do that as much as he needed to. Which felt odd, because his Usage rate is unchanged from the last decade.
A lot of those cumulative numbers suffer from the fact that most games are against either meh or not-locked-in teams. It's kind of like the Bucks' insane overall net rating: they're like +20.0ish against bad teams, and only about +2.5 against top 10 net rating teams (behind Philly and Boston).

LeBron can play at 90% (due to age or not pushing the gas) and still be able to get to his spots against most teams on most nights, in ways that he won't be able to against top wings without turning it up a notch. (Whether he will be able to turn it up that notch is open to debate--I'm in the "not to pre-2018 levels" camp, personally.)

Edit: just looked up the Lakers' ratings against bottom, middle, and top 10 defenses (per cleaningtheglass):
- Bottom 10: 115 ORtg, +13.9
- Middle 10: 114.5, +7.4
- Top 10: 108.9, -2.2
 

NomarsFool

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I think one thing that is disappointing about Hayward is that with Tatum, Brown, and Kemba you expect that about 1 out of every 5 games, one of those guys will have a great game, and probably in about another one or two of those 5, they'll be the key #2 scorer in the game.

How often do we get that out of Hayward? One out of 20 (at this point in the season)? He's consistent in the fact that he's putting up points in the teens, and definitely some good assists and rebounds, but he's very consistently the 3rd or 4th or 5th most important player for the Celtics on a given night. It's not bad. But, it's not really what you'd expect from a max contract.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I think one thing that is disappointing about Hayward is that with Tatum, Brown, and Kemba you expect that about 1 out of every 5 games, one of those guys will have a great game, and probably in about another one or two of those 5, they'll be the key #2 scorer in the game.

How often do we get that out of Hayward? One out of 20 (at this point in the season)? He's consistent in the fact that he's putting up points in the teens, and definitely some good assists and rebounds, but he's very consistently the 3rd or 4th or 5th most important player for the Celtics on a given night. It's not bad. But, it's not really what you'd expect from a max contract.
So the definition is that he needs to be at least the "key #2 scorer in a game" at least 20% of the time? That is fair though I am not sure its realistic given Hayward's skill set. I haven't looked at the data but I am not sure he is hitting this metric just 5% of the time either (if I had to guess, its probably somewhere in between those two percentages).

That said, I think you will have a hard time finding someone who loves his production given his contract but some of that is due to injuries while I also suspect some people had an unrealistic expectation about what Hayward was brought in to do.

Perhaps I have it wrong too but my read on the Celtics signing Hayward was to give them another polished playmaking wing to pair with Kyrie until Ainge could pry Davis loose while the Jays continued to develop. Hayward's gruesome injury happened, Irving turned out to be a bad fit in Boston and the Davis pursuit ended up being empty. But I don't think Ainge et al ever brought Hayward in to be a primary or even secondary scorer even though he had some of those skills.

Again, its different but some of the Hayward criticism feels like it was based on unrealistic expectations similar to the "Average Al" critiques we heard when Horford first landed in Boston. We arrived here via a different path but I think, ex-injuries, Hayward is having precisely the type of season the Celtics envisioned for him when they signed him two summers ago.
 
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128

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He's consistent in the fact that he's putting up points in the teens, and definitely some good assists and rebounds, but he's very consistently the 3rd or 4th or 5th most important player for the Celtics on a given night. It's not bad. But, it's not really what you'd expect from a max contract.
Let's not forget that Hayward is far from the typical player on a max contract. How many max players have returned from catastrophic injuries to be as effective as when they were healthy?

This is Hayward's reality, at least for the foreseeable future.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Let's not forget that Hayward is far from the typical player on a max contract. How many max players have returned from catastrophic injuries to be as effective as when they were healthy?

This is Hayward's reality, at least for the foreseeable future.
Indeed but its also worth noting, as several people in this thread have, that he is currently sporting production numbers that, ex-PPG, come pretty close if not surpass what he put up during his best days in Utah. To be fair, some of that was off the back of a good start but its not like the guy has been a total bust since returning from injury. It seems pretty clear that his health isn't right but he is still managing to be effective even when he isn't scoring.

I do wonder if some people were unfamiliar with his production with the Jazz and just expected a 30 ppg scorer along with a max contract. That would explain some of the frustration with him along with the injuries and inconsistency.
 

128

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I expected the guy from the 2017 playoffs when he signed here. He was tremendous against the Clippers and the Warriors.
Pretty sure we would have seen that guy, or something close, if not for a lob gone terribly wrong in the 2017-18 opener.
 
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NomarsFool

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At this point, I think it is completely unrealistic that he is going to be traded. I think he has negative trade value (he's either going to be good the rest of the season and leave, or bad the rest of the season and opt-in). If he can get back to October 2019 form and no one else gets injured, the Celtics have a good shot at the conference finals, I think.

The interesting question is going to be what happens this summer. I think the idea that he'd feel particularly loyal to the Celtics or Brad Stevens and sign some team friendly deal at a discount is wishful thinking. Players just don't do that. Unless he has a particularly terrible second half, he'll opt out of his contract as this might be his last big payday. I think some mid-level team with some cap space will hope that Hayward will push them into the playoffs and offer him a max. At that point, the best we can hope for is that there is some sign and trade opportunity that would yield value to the Celtics. Otherwise, we'll just lose the salary slot.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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At this point, I think it is completely unrealistic that he is going to be traded. I think he has negative trade value (he's either going to be good the rest of the season and leave, or bad the rest of the season and opt-in). If he can get back to October 2019 form and no one else gets injured, the Celtics have a good shot at the conference finals, I think.

The interesting question is going to be what happens this summer. I think the idea that he'd feel particularly loyal to the Celtics or Brad Stevens and sign some team friendly deal at a discount is wishful thinking. Players just don't do that. Unless he has a particularly terrible second half, he'll opt out of his contract as this might be his last big payday. I think some mid-level team with some cap space will hope that Hayward will push them into the playoffs and offer him a max. At that point, the best we can hope for is that there is some sign and trade opportunity that would yield value to the Celtics. Otherwise, we'll just lose the salary slot.
Based on nothing concrete, my guess is that he doesn't opt-out. Here's why.

(1). Didn't seem to me that he enjoyed the FA process.

(2) Doesn't seem to me that he'd sign to play anywhere just to get the most money.

(3) He's going to make $34M next year and he'll only be 30 after next year.

(4) Even if he does want to test the FA market, there's a good argument that he should get another year of recovery under his belt to try to recapture as much, well, success as possible. Right now GH isn't an All-Star and unless he has a show-stopping playoffs, how many teams are goingto give him max or near-max right now?

(5). Given his foot, he's still not physically right.

I don't see how entering FA market next year is going to be worse than this year, particularly if he follows the Paul George progression at all.

Plus Brad.
 

nighthob

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Hanging around for another year as the fourth option with Jayson Tatum continuing to grow won’t help his performance numbers. I don’t expect him to run for a team like the Hawks or Hornets. But I do think that contenders looking for a 3rd/4th option are going to want to talk to him. He’s opting out.
 

lovegtm

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Hanging around for another year as the fourth option with Jayson Tatum continuing to grow won’t help his performance numbers. I don’t expect him to run for a team like the Hawks or Hornets. But I do think that contenders looking for a 3rd/4th option are going to want to talk to him. He’s opting out.
Yeah, it feels like that would be best for all parties. The Celtics need to rebalance the roster and salary structure (especially with Smart looking great as he rounds back into shape post-bout-with-blindness), and if Hayward looks good by the summer, he's a great piece for a team with less at the wing.

The Celtics mid to long term are probably better with a ~15M 3-and-D guy (with a real 3) at that spot.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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So GH is going to opt-out from being the 3rd or 4th option on a championship-caliber team with a coach he loves and playing in a system he is super familiar with to talk to other championship-caliber teams to be the 3rd or 4th options with players he's never played with and a coach he's never played for and go through a process that by all indications he didn't care for the first time?

Remember, he only took meetings with three teams last time: BOS, MIA, and UTAH.

I think he would leave only for a situation that is better than BOS and unless there is something on in the locker room, I don't see it out there.
 

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Miami might be a Hayward away from contending, though, and he loved Pat Riley last time around if you listened to that long podcast about his process. I could see that as a possibility.

If Conley exercises his early-termination in Utah, they might well decide they prefer Hayward. Donovan Mitchell has a rookie-scale year remaining in 20-21.

He'd be a top option in Memphis, and god knows they have the cap room.

There are options out there for him, without requiring him to go to a magnifying-glass clown show like the Knicks.
 

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Taking salary out of it, is Haywire's game one that you would want on the team? I say yes. He plays like a complementary player who can hit shots, senses when his moment is there, good team defense, creates for others. And his current style of play is not dependent on (elite) athleticism. He seems a good teammate, and doesn't demand the ball on the court. I think that Stevens is guilty of overplaying him (including as others have noted on 2nd night of B2Bs). If Brad went into load management mode with him the way they did with Horford, I think he'd be more of an asset when he was on the court. As I've stated previously, I wonder if the All Star break will give him a little physical lift as well.

Financially, because it does matter - as long a Stevens and Ainge can find a way for Haywire to be on the team without being handcuffed with respect to bringing in missing pieces, I think Haywire stays. And should stay.
 

nighthob

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So GH is going to opt-out from being the 3rd or 4th option on a championship-caliber team with a coach he loves and playing in a system he is super familiar with to talk to other championship-caliber teams to be the 3rd or 4th options with players he's never played with and a coach he's never played for and go through a process that by all indications he didn't care for the first time?
Yes, he will, because in the summer Of ‘21 he’ll be another year older and have less to contribute to another team and therefore be worth less on the free agent market. We literally just went through this with Horford. Hayward is going to opt out.
 

ugmo33

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I like Hayward a lot and i think he would be great in a pseudo-Igoudala role on a championship team. Veteran roleplayer who can steady the ship and provide leadership for the young stars. Best case scenario for the C's is he opts out and signs a discounted contract due to injury (or fear of injury) and then outperforms the $.
 

nighthob

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With Tatum’s five year max looming on the horizon Boston is unlikely to re-sign Hayward. The economics simply don’t work.
 

lovegtm

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With Tatum’s five year max looming on the horizon Boston is unlikely to re-sign Hayward. The economics simply don’t work.
Yeah, people seem to be having a hard time differentiating between "is Gordon Hayward good" and "is Gordon Hayward at $25-30M/year the best allocation of scarce resources given the rest of the roster?"

They're very, very different questions, and have different answers. A lot has changed since he signed that contract: Brown was an unproven rookie, Tatum hadn't played a minute, and Kemba was very much a Hornet.
 

DJnVa

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I think one thing that is disappointing about Hayward is that with Tatum, Brown, and Kemba you expect that about 1 out of every 5 games, one of those guys will have a great game, and probably in about another one or two of those 5, they'll be the key #2 scorer in the game.

How often do we get that out of Hayward? One out of 20 (at this point in the season)? He's consistent in the fact that he's putting up points in the teens, and definitely some good assists and rebounds, but he's very consistently the 3rd or 4th or 5th most important player for the Celtics on a given night. It's not bad. But, it's not really what you'd expect from a max contract.
I think, and it's just my opinion, is that what you think Hayward's role *should* be, based on what he's making and what Stevens wants his role to be, based on his on-court skills, are very different things.

Hayward has the highest eFG% of any of the big 4. The TS% of him Jaylen, and Kemba are all within .007 (with Tatum about 40 points lower). But it's more important for this team (now and the future) that Tatum and Brown became the alpha scorers. Hayward isn't doing that not because he can't, but because they don't want him to on a day in and day out basis. They want him and Kemba to facilitate the offense, keep things calm, and help JT and JB blossom.

And yes, the economics mean that we likely only have a year or 2 left with him.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Yes, he will, because in the summer Of ‘21 he’ll be another year older and have less to contribute to another team and therefore be worth less on the free agent market. We literally just went through this with Horford. Hayward is going to opt out.
Horford was hardly the same thing. Horford opted-out because Kyrie left and there was at that point a chance that the Cs would not be able to replace him. So Horford, who wants to win a ring, opted-out and signed with a contender.

Unless my memory is failing me, there was even discussion after Kemba committed to the Cs in trying to get Horford back and DA even figured out how to do it but it would have involved giving BRK a first-round draft pick so when combined with Horford's new contract and the first round pick, DA declined.

No was shocked when Al opted-out. Al was healthy and playing at a very high level and PHI seemed like a decent landing spot for him.

GH isn't healthy, there doesn't seem like a natural fit for him at least at this point in time, and could increase his value simply by playing in 75+ games.

As my mom used to say, "We shall see."
 

nighthob

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Horford opted out due to age and economics, he left Boston because Kyrie left, but he went to free agency in the first place because of his age and the calculation that goes into free agent offers. There’s going to be a markdown to paying for Hayward’s age 31-34 seasons vs. his 30-33 ones. He’s opting out.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Yeah, people seem to be having a hard time differentiating between "is Gordon Hayward good" and "is Gordon Hayward at $25-30M/year the best allocation of scarce resources given the rest of the roster?"

They're very, very different questions, and have different answers. A lot has changed since he signed that contract: Brown was an unproven rookie, Tatum hadn't played a minute, and Kemba was very much a Hornet.
Although I am arguing that GH does not opt-out, if he does, and with respect to your question which I have underlined, yes the equation certainly changes.

However, there is one factor that needs to be added - is Gordon Hayward at $25-30M/year the best allocation of scarce resources given the rest of the roster and given the Cs salary cap situation?

If GH opts-out, I agree that the Cs will likely not re-sign him but they do have to do something with his salary slot. DA will always be looking for some kind of sign and trade but as we all know, this is the tricky part.
 

lovegtm

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If GH opts-out, I agree that the Cs will likely not re-sign him but they do have to do something with his salary slot. DA will always be looking for some kind of sign and trade but as we all know, this is the tricky part.
A S&T is actually pretty doable because Hayward would very, very likely be going to a capped-out team.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Horford opted out due to age and economics, he left Boston because Kyrie left, but he went to free agency in the first place because of his age and the calculation that goes into free agent offers. There’s going to be a markdown to paying for Hayward’s age 31-34 seasons vs. his 30-33 ones. He’s opting out.
When Horford opted-out, he was trading in his 1/$30M contract for a 3 or 4 year deal that most people thought was going to be worth $20M-ish. He also 33 this year with leg issues so the likelihood of increasing his worth by opting-in was non-existent.

GH is 29 and will make $34M next year. Unless GH's agent knows something about the market, is anyone going to sign him to a 4/$100M given the fact that he still has foot issues? Maybe. But if GH plays 75+ games next year at the same or higher level, he might very well be able to get a lot more money.

The point is that (1) there was no way Horford was going to leave any money on the table by opting-out and (2) I'm sure he or his agent knew he had a landing spot that would allow him to compete for a championship if the Cs didn't re-sign him.

GH probably believes that he does have better basketball to play, would have to be convinced that there's as good or a better situation, and maybe doesn't want to go through the spectacle of FA again.

To me, the two situations aren't remotely similar. YMMV.
 

Swedgin

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Who are the perceived destinations/suitors for GH if he opts out? My impression was cap space was limited this coming year and largely in the hands of rebuilding teams (Hawks, Cavs etc.).
 

nighthob

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Who are the perceived destinations/suitors for GH if he opts out? My impression was cap space was limited this coming year and largely in the hands of rebuilding teams (Hawks, Cavs etc.).
Miami managed to sign Jimmy Butler despite having zero cap space. The transactions are done via sign & trade. The teams that are likely to take a long hard look at Hayward are the Heat, the Warriors, and both LA teams. Boston’s best case would be the Warriors since there’s a fit there.
 
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