Gordon Hayward

Gordon Hayward
SF/PF - 6’8, 226lbs - 28 years old - 8 years of experience

Well, that wasn’t the ideal season.

Nevertheless, it will be fixed. And when it does so, Hayward - the embodiment of the kind of growth potential teams, commentators and fans alike can miss out on if they assume athleticism does not develop at the NBA level like skills can - ought to get ready to play the power forward position full time.

There is no real reason to doubt that he can do this. It may be marginally sub-optimal for him as an individual to do, but for the team, it is the best look. Jayson Tatum needs to be on the court as much as medical science recommends is possible, considering his quick ascent to stardom, while Jaylen Brown is not far behind. So start them at the wing spots, and Hayward as the de facto power forward, then reap the rewards of The Reload.

Position-free basketball is the Celtics’ ideal, and having those three as a barrage on both ends (alongside the more clearly identifiable centre and point guard positions) makes for an endless series of defensive length, perimeter shooting and drives. For the opposition, these are bad pieces to have to switch onto on either end.

There seems no reason to doubt that Hayward will be back to his best. One serious injury does not prescribe another. And so, unless you are an Eastern rival, look forward to that.

Player Plan: Three years and $98,102,070 remaining, the last year of which is a player option. Clearly keep.

Gordon Hayward
SF, 6’8, 226lbs, 27 years old, 7 years of experience

Hayward’s points per game has gone up in each of the seven years of his career, this year scoring over 20 points per game for the first time, doing so on a .595% true shooting percentage and a 27.6% usage rate. Shooting 40.0% from three-point range and 69.1% at the rim is an excellent combination, particularly given his ability to get from one to other, and although his efficiency in all the areas in between those was worse, Hayward’s ability to create these looks off the dribble, screens and cuts was the lynchpin of the team’s offensive playbook. But as good as he has become, he is not worth the $200 million+ that the Designated Veteran Player Extension would pay him. Regular max, yes, but that’s too much.

Player Plan: Entering free agency and a coveted player. It will take a max to keep him, and yet as good and important as Hayward is, he is not worth the full max. Then again, we said that last time, and it all worked out great. Keeping Hayward and Hill keeps this team relevant, and only a move or two away, for the foreseeable future.

Of the aforementioned 29 players signed so far, all but Wesley Johnson, DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Gordon Hayward, Avery Bradley, Craig Brackins, Quincy Pondexter and Lazar Hayward have performance incentives in their contracts. This means that the top three picks all have them, as do most of the ones below them. So when I say it is standard practice to have performance incentives in rookie scale contracts, I am not just yanking your crank. It really is.

Gordon Hayward

All I'm saying is that you should not be surprised if Hayward demonstrates a jumpshot in this tournament that is smoother than a baby's arse. His 29% three point percentage from last season was an aberration. In the U-19 championships last summer, Hayward's jumpshot was Garrity calibre. That was no aberration either; his jumpshot has been good in every year except last year. And when you consider the versatility of the rest of his game, plus his sufficient athleticism, then you'll realise why Pat Garrity does not suffice as a comparison, and why Utah had to pick him at 9 before Oklahoma City could. It's still a reach, but it'll be deemed less so when the overdue jumpshot turns up.

Pick 9: The first significant reach of the draft is made, as Utah drafts Gordon Hayward of Butler with the 9th pick. Gordon gets up, puts on a Jazz cap (all caps tonight have unbroken beaks for no reason at all), and kisses an extremely hot blonde who looks about 7 years his senior. And by that, I mean she looks about 20.

This presents an opportunity for the night's first lookalike; Gordon Hayward in 30 years (when he'll be 38 years old), and the guy who fell asleep at the wheel causing the Selby rail crash disaster, Gary Hart:



Hayward at 9 is a reach, but it's not a baseless one. Adam Morrison is a comparison often batted around for Hayward, yet it's a grossly unfair and highly inaccurate one. Hayward is a good athlete, not one of the calibre of Aminu, but a good one nonetheless. He can handle the ball and create off the dribble, finish around the basket and from midrange, knows how to use screens (as does every Butler player), and has never received a technical foul for cowardice in the face of the enemy, unlike Morrison. Hayward is physical if not strong, athletic if not explosive, and experienced if still pre-pubescent. He is also a considerably better shooter than his 29% from three point range last season indicates, and I implore you to trust me on that.

He's not strong, and he's only an average athlete. But on the team that rocked Matt Harpring for so long, this should be fine. If Harpring could help Gordon bulk up, even better.

Hayward was an avid tennis player in his youth, actually giving up basketball for a time to pursue the game, and his twin sister is also a keen tennis player. In the pre-game show, Stu Scott stated "If he kept up his tennis career, imagine where [Hayward] would be right now." I'll hazard a guess: its's late June, so how about Wimbledon?