sam_I_am wrote:ParticleMan wrote:grindtime22 wrote:
Are people saying that about PG because of 6 games at the end of the year? I know he says that he didn't feel full strength until the 2nd year, but he was still really, really, really good that 1st real year back. He took another step forward the following year, but that 1st year back was arguably the best season of his career to that point. 23/7/4 and he took it up a level in the postseason.
I'm optimistic about Hayward just to get that out there though.
i really hope you guys are right, but i haven't seen the same explosion and quickness that hayward had with utah. while it was never top-shelf, this was actually an important part of his game, and opened up his outside shooting. if after 2 years he hasn't gotten this back, i'm guessing it's not coming back. for a guy who was a borderline all star to begin with, i think it puts him into very good but below AS level.
i mean look at this... i haven't seen this in boston yet:
i absolutely think he can and will be a huge part of our team this year. but longer term? if he opts out, what contract do we offer him? he plays roughly the same position as tatum and brown, although he brings different skills. if i have to give 25m per year to someone, it's not going to be GH at age 31-35 instead of brown and/or tatum. then we've got langford who hopefully will be our SG of the future if all goes well. i like this kid, don't get me wrong, i just think he's got a ways to go to get to brown/tatum level. but he's also much younger.
bottom line i think hayward's days with us are numbered. really sucks about his injury, he would have been amazing without that, but it is what it is.
Great post. I am very optimistic for Gordon. His NetRtg last year in preseason was -29. This year is +18 which is as good or better than any he had in Utah. Of course teams are different so they probably don’t correlate. However his defensive rating last year was an abysmal 122 and now is about 85 which is good even on this team. Last year’s numbers show what a shell of himself he was at start of year and he did make a lot of progress. This year he is explosive and he has had some dunks that we just didn’t see. I agree they are not at level of the highlights you linked but I won’t exclude the chance of him getting there. He is already just so much better that he was in April.
That said....he still has to be traded. Celtics simply cannot count on him opting in or resigning at discounted rate. Unless he has another down year it would be crazy for him to opt in because a 3+1 deal at age 31 is much easier to get in weak FA year than it will be at age 32. Maybe team is okay letting him walk for nothing and then just paying Tatum and Brown and Kemba. I think he needs to be featured to drive up his value and then traded for a big. Orlando seems to be a great trading partner - they need a playmaker and a shooter and are overloaded with PFs which is a need for us.
He doesn't have any trade value. It doesn't matter if he opts out and walks away he has no game right now. Boston's going to give his money to Tatum. You don't really want more than 3 guys on big dollar deals. I am rooting for Hayward but I only care about how he can help this team I could care less about managing him like an asset.
