Boston Celtics Rumors: Could Hayward be on Indiana’s offseason radar?

With the success the Boston Celtics are finding sans Gordon Hayward’s ankle injury, might he be viewed as expendable this offseason? If so, might Indiana be interested in the forward?

Though the Boston Celtics are still in the midst of competing for banner number 18, it has not stopped the media circuits from discussing what routes they could take during this upcoming offseason.

Frankly, from October’s NBA Draft — where the Cs hold the rights to three first-round picks — to the impending 2020 free-agency period, there is just so much for fans to be excited about.

This fad doesn’t just stop with Boston, however.

Multiple sports publications have shown an affinity towards discussing hypothetical scenarios for a team’s offseason plans. Recently, Bleacher Report penned an article discussing every NBA team’s “dream” offseason trade target which, obviously included the likes of Boston.

Aside from their own team’s inclusion on the list, the Celtics were brought up a few more times within the article, particularly in regard to some of their key contributors, and the idea of them being targeted from other franchises.

The most notable of C’s players that found themselves mentioned in B/R’s article was none other than their $32 million-man, Gordon Hayward.

Writer Greg Swartz believes the talented forward to be the ideal trade target for the Indiana Pacers this offseason, with his reasoning being:

"Hayward is an Indianapolis native who could start at small forward or come off the bench as one of the NBA’s best sixth men. He looked like his former All-Star self this season, averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.Putting up those numbers despite being fourth among Celtics rotation players in usage rate (21.1 percent) bodes well for a trade to Indiana, where his role would likely only increase.Even if getting Hayward cost the Pacers a starter like Myles Turner, an opening lineup of Malcolm Brogdon, Victor Oladipo, Hayward, T.J. Warren and Domantas Sabonis would feature plenty of balanced scoring and playmaking and push the Pacers toward the top of the East."

Now, this certainly isn’t the first time one has discussed the Boston Celtics moving on from Hayward. Frankly, this isn’t even the first time we’ve seen Hayward linked to the Pacers, as our own Andrew Hughes brought this idea to light just a few months ago.

While virtually all of us here at the Houdini believes the veteran forward to be quite a talented player and a vital component to the success found by the team in 2019-20, if the opportunity arose where we could see Danny Ainge exchange his services for the likes of big-man Myles Turner — a player we’ve discussed Boston pursuing a few times in the past — it might ultimately be too hard for the team to turn down.

What say you Celtics fans?

Do you believe Indiana could offer a worth-while return package for the former All-Star? Might there be another team Boston should pursue in trade talks? Or, perhaps you believe the team should just keep Hayward in tow?

No matter what your views are, we’d love to hear your opinions on the matter — especially Hooligans! — in the comment section below.