Hayward will be great for Boston, Olynyk, Thomas, Brown and the Celtics.

[Green89]

hayward will be great for boston.......

like he is joining boston or something lol. Jazz will most likely make the playoffs this season and they have a nice promising group of young player, I dont see a reason why hayward would choose any other team right now....

Right, because battling for the 6th seed year in and year out in the West, yet never being good enough to get past San Antonio, LAC, and Golden State sounds like fun. And also Portland and Minnesota are going to be strong teams to contend with in the coming years. Yah, why would he want to play for any other team.

Not every player makes their career decisions based on which teams has the better shot at a title. There is a ton that goes into it. But it's safe to say money is always high on that list. Especially for younger players.

True, but as far as other considerations: home area (no, he's from Indiana), went to college nearby (no), big limelight/nightlife city (no), warm climate (no), college coach now your head coach (no) .

[FakeScreenName123]

[ddb]

the Hayward talk is premature. Is he a good player? yes. Is he a superstar? no. Would I be interested in adding him to this team as a Free Agent if he is the only guy we can get? yes. I'm not as worried about the rotation. Leave that to Danny to figure out. Guys can be traded, etc.
But from a pure roster/talent standpoint....the wing is not a weakness. Crowder is a very good 2-way player. AB is a 1st team ALL-NBA defensive player who also happens to average 15ppg. Real good player. Jaylen Brown is the #3 pick with a very high upside. Could end up being the best player on the team some day. And I haven't even talked about Marcus Smart and what he brings, or the fact that we have the rights to swap picks with one of the worst teams in the league (Josh Jackson anyone?)

Adding Hayward is fun in theory. But do we really want to pay a fringe All-Star the max just because he used to play for Brad Stevens at Butler? Maybe. Too early to call.

Enjoy the start of the season guys! I'm excited to see this team get to business.

[jmr07019]

Hayward is not much of an upgrade from Bradley. CHL really underrates Bradley. Hayward is a big upgrade from what Smart gave us last season though. If Smart shows no progress this season and we don't draft a guard I can see a case for bringing in Hayward.

Just too early to have a good feel for things like this though. Is Smart going to take a step forward this year? Are we going to be in a draft position where a guard is clearly the best player available and there are no trades available? Is Ainge going to make a trade clearing some playing time for a wing player? Are the Jazz going to be good enough where Hayward will stay? Is Brown going to play well enough that we don't want to bring in another guy who would take the ball out is Brown's hands?

[Edug27]

Right, because battling for the 6th seed year in and year out in the West, yet never being good enough to get past San Antonio, LAC, and Golden State sounds like fun. And also Portland and Minnesota are going to be strong teams to contend with in the coming years. Yah, why would he want to play for any other team.

Not every player makes their career decisions based on which teams has the better shot at a title. There is a ton that goes into it. But it's safe to say money is always high on that list. Especially for younger players.

True, but as far as other considerations: home area (no, he's from Indiana), went to college nearby (no), big limelight/nightlife city (no), warm climate (no), college coach now your head coach (no) .

Comfort zone and money would be the key factors in him resigning... Not sure how important either are.

[jtman]

Our defense would suffer from replacing Bradley with Hayward. Also I have a lot of faith in Crowder and would hope we would pursue a star power forward next offseason instead of getting a player at Crowder's position.

[Curmudgeon]

Hayward is a great fit here. But the questions are (a) will he leave Utah and (b) will Hayward be worth what you would have to pay him in free agency?

[exculpatory]

Hayward is a great fit here. But the questions are (a) will he leave Utah and (b) will Hayward be worth what you would have to pay him in free agency?

THIS.
I like him a lot.
Nothing wrong with adding a fringe All Star who works hard & plays hard.
I am not as enamored of Crowder as some are.
Hondo's grandson.

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

If Cousins isn't obtained at the Trading Deadline (and I'm not sure Ainge values him as greatly as the posters here),
won't surprise me if Hayward and Noel are the big free agent acquisitions for the Celtics and they take a flyer
on Giles in the Draft, but so many Combo Guards available, how can Ainge resist?

[bigfoot_cryptozoology]

One thing people are forgetting, is it seems unlikely the Celtics will pay both IT and Bradley 20+ million yearly salaries,
so you could sign Hayward and then deal Bradley for a quality 2018 or 19 pick, maybe not Top 5, but definitely somewhere in the Lottery.

[CelticFaninLBC]

I wouldn't worry about Hayward's fit. This team needs guys who can score and Hayward can help with that. Also, they can consolidate their assets and trade for a very good player.

[Disinformation]

Hayward being the C's big acquisition next year will feel like a Plan C move. Solid player, but not the superstar we really want.

[Dannyboy36]

I like Hayward but I'd rather have Bradley. Nobody in the whole NBA is as good as Bradley on the ball vs point guards and I think only an aging Tony Allen is close right now.
Even though Hayward is overall a better player I think him and Isiah starting in place of either Bradley or crowder all of a sudden makes us NOT a great defensive team anymore.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

Hayward being the C's big acquisition next year will feel like a Plan C move. Solid player, but not the superstar we really want.

I also think, with that the ISO game is dead with the Celtics style of play. Danny, said more than a few times that they need a closer, but having a closer is different than bringing in that guy that wants everyone to draw back to the weak side while they post up their man one on one. I think DA and Stevens want a guy that, within the last 3-5 mintues of the game is a guy who can get you buckets, possibly in ISO situations if need be. I dont think, he's as plan C as it would seem on the surface. There's also some old dogs in next years free agent class who have gotten used to being the focal point the entire game. I dont know if that's the style of player we want to bring in.