At the end of the 2019-20 Boston Celtics season, longtime play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman shared his thoughts on what the team should do in 2020-21.
Boston Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman recently appeared on the popular local sports radio show “Toucher and Rich” to talk what might be in store for Boston in their 2020-21 season.
The long-time Celtics announcer had some strong feelings about some aspects of Boston’s summer, but when it came to the biggest piece looming for the Celtics’ offseason plans, Gorman admitted he was as much in the dark as the rest of us.
That piece would be the future of Gordon Hayward’s contract, which has a player option on his final season. Should the Indiana native opt into it, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of of it, able to walk to the destination of his choosing.
“The big thing with Gordon is is his money,” noted the announcer. “He makes 30 something million this year [editor’s note: just over $34 million]; he’s got his choice to take it or walk away from it. So, maybe the idea of going to Indiana and be reunited with family maybe going back to Utah [appeals].”
This could be a reference to a loose framework of a deal that could see Hayward head to his home state franchise in exchange for a deal including one of both of the Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo and/or Myles Turner.
Gorman also brought up the possibility of a deal sending Hayward back to the Utah Jazz.
“It’s true that Utah [also] might be interested in bringing back those possibilities, or maybe he just stays put and says, ‘Okay, the money is on the table — thank you very much,'” he added. “‘What time do we have practice?'”
The Celtics announcer seemed much more certain about what the Celtics need to address in the draft, however.
Second-unit coring and shooting — preferably lots of it, and of the sort that can help immediately.
“You’ve got to get somebody who can score off the bench,” he explained.
“Now, the Celtics have what? Three first-round draft picks? I know they’re like in the 20s, but they’ve got to find someone who can score off of the bench. They need a Lou Williams type of player. I don’t care if the kid never plays any defense, I want somebody to come in and shoot, shoot the ball and make baskets.”
“Someone who can come in and shoot threes, comes in and can score, take the ball to the basket,” Gorman emphasized.
With the Celtics reportedly interviewing prospects like Stanford’s Tyrell Terry and TCU’s Desmond Bane, it seems that area of improvement is on the menu for the team’s front office as well.
And as the team shifts into offseason concerns like the 2020 NBA Draft and free agency in the coming days and weeks, we may begin to get more signs of what team president Danny Ainge and company (and Hayward for that matter) are hoping to accomplish ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.
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