Boston Celtics: Franchise still has faith in Gordon Hayward, and you should too

Recently, reports have surfaced that the Boston Celtics “quickly” rejected a trade offer for Gordon Hayward this summer. With this, it is evident Danny Ainge and co. still have faith in their $128 million man and, frankly, you should too.

After struggling to return to his All-Star caliber form last season following his devastating left leg injury, fans — myself included — were curious as to whether the Boston Celtics would look into the possibility of dealing Gordon Hayward.

When the franchise inked the small forward to a four-year, $128 million deal in the summer of 2017, they believed their version of a “big-three” had finally been established. Coming into that season, the three-headed monster of Hayward, Al Horford and recently acquired Kyrie Irving seemed likely to reign supreme out East for years to come.

Unfortunately, as we now all know, these expectations were never quite lived up to.

Irving decided two-years was long enough in Boston and opted to sign with division rival, the Brooklyn Nets, this offseason. Horford, too, called it quits in Beantown this summer, and inked a four-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.

With Boston’s talented trio suddenly transitioning into a one-man-band, many believed it was only a matter of time before the franchise dumped the small forward elsewhere and committed themselves to a full fledged youth movement.

However, despite the team’s losses, coupled with Hayward’s underwhelming 2018-19 campaign, the Boston Celtics seem committed to keeping the 29-year-old in tow for the foreseeable future.

Recently, Kevin Smith of SB Nation’s Celtics Blog spoke of a conversation he had with a rival executive about the Hayward situation in Boston, and provided fans with very interesting details.

"“After it was clear Kyrie (Irving) was leaving, I told our owner that we could maybe grab Hayward for nothing if Boston tore it down. He’s owed a lot of money, but only a couple of years left. We made a call, but it got shut down quickly. I think Danny (Ainge) and Brad (Stevens) know what they have in Hayward for this year and going forward. He’s going to be really good again.”"

Last season, Hayward was, to put it lightly, a bit inconsistent. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 25.9 minutes per game while shooting 47% from the field and 33% from deep.

By looking at these averages alone, it is apparent that this level of production is definitely not worth the type of contract the forward received two years ago. However, nothing in life is “black and white.”

With an injury such as the one Hayward sustained in 2017, it takes much more than just a physical toll on someone’s health. Though he was cleared to play at the start of last season with his left ankle finally healed, it was apparent throughout the year that he was not fully back mentally.

The mental impact an injury like this has on someone should, presumably, take significantly longer to overcome than the physical.

Though he may have started out the season a bit slow, by the end, we started to see him get more comfortable on the hardwood and, from time to time, showed glimpses of his pre-injury self.

In fact, during the final month of the season the forward seemed to finally be making strides towards full health, as he put up averages of 18.3 points, 5.3 boards and 3 assists per game while shooting 40% from beyond the arc.

His improvements throughout the year have sparked some serious excitement and hope amongst members of the Celtics brass this summer. A current team executive couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm for Hayward coming into this season when talking to Kevin Smith during the Las Vegas Summer League, stating:

"“….we saw late last year how good he can be. We think he’ll be back in a big way.”"

Head coach Brad Stevens, too, had many positive things to say about Hayward heading into 2019 and, even hinted at a bigger role for the former All-Star.

"“Gordon is going to be the dude who unlocks everything. He’s so skilled in all facets of the game. I saw him before we left to come here and he was kicking everyone’s a** in the gym. He wants to prove he’s still that dude.”"

Though many fans may have wanted to see Hayward’s contract offloaded this offseason, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has different plans.

Over the years, Ainge has proven time and time again that he knows a thing or two about the game of Basketball. If he believes Hayward is worth keeping onboard heading into this season, we as fans should have complete trust and faith that he knows what he’s doing.