11-17-2020, 04:22 PM
Quote:There’s also the current situation to consider. Of Boston’s Best Five, the most tenuous future is with Gordon Hayward. He has a $34 million player option he could exercise by Tuesday and there’s the possibility of re-negotiating an extension with the Celtics to stay long term. Obviously, Hayward’s three-year stint so far in Boston has been mired by injury and bad luck, but last season, it’s hard to ignore just how efficient he was.
Individually, he turned in arguably his most efficient year, averaging nearly 18-7-4 on 50-38-86 splits. Even in a diminished role, he neared Utah Hayward numbers and as impressive as those stats are, it’s important to see how they mesh with the framework of the rest of the team. The narrative has been that Hayward is a bit of a luxury for the Celtics. Even though they’re paying him a max-level contract, he’s at worst a complementary piece to Brown and Tatum or at worst, a speed bump on their road to superstardom.
Off the court, Kemba gets a lot of credit for his leadership and willingness to take a back seat in favor of the franchise’s core duo. On the court, it’s really Hayward that galvanizes the team. As previously mentioned, Walker is part of all three trios with negative net ratings. Hayward, on the other hand, is part of the three best. Hayward-Brown-Tatum and Hayward-Smart-Tatum are +20 in net rating and if you consider the fact that in both lineups, he’s ideally the primary playmaker (rather than playing off ball), bringing him back to Boston for next season and even two or three more is a no-brainer.
https://www.celticsblog.com/2020/11/16/2...rcus-smart