A combination of less-than-optimal results in recent games and the fast-approaching trade deadline has stirred up considerable interest in dealing veteran forward Gordon Hayward from the Boston Celtics among fans and analysts alike.
A busy stretch of the calendar and injuries no one could have realistically prevented have almost everything to do with the recent skid, and Hayward’s play very little, even if a certain subset of Boston fans are happy to blame the Butler product anyway.
But those scapegoating Celtics aficionados aside, does it actually make sense to deal the 29-year-old former All-Star?
It depends on how you see the situation.
3 reasons why the Celtics shouldn’t trade Gordon Hayward https://t.co/Mq1BKfuZ4I pic.twitter.com/9HyYcmyM65
— Boston.com (@BostonDotCom) January 24, 2020
Some analysts would rather see the team’s young wing duo, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, forced into bigger roles in his absence.
This overlaps with another perspective concerned that the former Bulldog could opt out of his current deal this summer and walk for nothing as center Al Horford did last summer.
Regardless of whether you feel either (or both) of these ideas make sense, it would almost certainly make the team worse in the short-term.
It also requires a quality target another team is willing to deal, and to date there haven’t been any realistic options to make a big splash even if the Celtics had the assets and salaries needed to seal the deal.
The #Celtics need to prioritize upgrading their offense off the bench at the trade deadline. If Robert Williams gets healthy, he’s the defensive-minded big they need. Don’t acquire another big, unless it’s a legit star. Which won’t happen without dealing, likely, Gordon Hayward.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) January 21, 2020
With so many big-but-crucial salaries unable to be dealt for an impact player, only Hayward’s seems plausible given his age, a half-decade or older than most of his peers on the rookie-heavy squad.
But the same contractual uncertainty over what the Indiana native will do this summer will likely give teams who’d like to keep him as much pause as those who need an expiring deal.
There’s something to be said for what Hayward provides the team when he’s feeling it, and for most nights this season, he has enough that he’s been a key figure whether playing with starters or helping ease transitions to the second unit.
“His ability to act as a playmaker at 6-foot-7 creates problems for opponents, but it more so gives [head coach] Brad Stevens a multitude of options when it comes to rotations and lineups,” notes Boston.com’s Chris Grenham on this point.
Gordon Hayward is really getting crushed tonight, so it's probably worth pointing out that the guy is averaging 16, 6 and 4 on 51 percent shooting, and has a +6.5 net rating that's the same as Kemba's and better than Jaylen's and Smart's.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 19, 2020
As Grenham notes, he’s also an excellent, versatile defender, and if the team truly needs bench scoring and shooting, staggering the 10-year veteran onto the rookie-dominated second unit could be just what the doctor ordered without even making a trade.
While there are very good and valid reasons to consider such a drastic move as dealing Hayward, it’s probably overdue we take a long, hard look at the actual contexts such a move makes sense within — which are not as broad as some assume.
And based on what we’re seeing develop so far on the trade market, such a move may just not materialize in time to pounce.
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