Could Boston Celtics explore a Hayward-Rockets trade this offseason?

The Eastern Conference finals will determine a great deal of what will happen this offseason for the Boston Celtics. Could it drive the Cs to deal Gordon Hayward to a team like Houston?

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals didn’t prove that either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat were the clear favorites moving forward. Instead, the 117-114 Heat triumph showed that we can be in for quite a long and exhilarating series.

Exhilarating won’t necessarily guarantee success for the Cs in the postseason’s penultimate round. In fact, there could be four barn-burning Boston losses on the horizon if the team can’t execute late in games.

And no, we’re not going to crucify the team’s execution in overtime or the fourth quarter last night. The game came down to a bang-bang, or rather Bam-Bam, play. Adebayo’s already iconic swat of Jayson Tatum’s end-of-overtime rim run could have just as easily been a poster and there could have been a double overtime in the Lake Buena Vista bubble.

That said, a loss could change things for Boston this offseason. Even a win–without a certain well compensated former All-Star–could have the team reconsidering its current direction.

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz takes a look at a scenario where the Boston Celtics deal Gordon Hayward to the Houston Rockets for a multi-player return in a piece highlighting one trade every eliminated playoff team could make in the offseason:

"With its draft picks and young talent nearly depleted, Houston will have to start trading off rotation players to find ones who better fit Westbrook and James Harden. Between the trio of Covington, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr., Covington likely carries the most value.Hayward is an extremely versatile player, one who could let Harden rest more throughout the regular season and allow Houston to take advantage of the league’s leading scorer off the ball. When Harden and Westbrook are orchestrating the offense, Hayward would be an excellent floor-spacer with his 42.5 percent mark on catch-and-shoot threes this season. His 6’7″, 225-pound frame would also fit Houston’s switch-everything defense."

Hayward as a third wheel in Houston would actually be perfect, especially if the team maintains its small-ball identity. His switching abilities would fit in to a defense that would retain P.J. Tucker and Danuel House in the deal.

So far so good Mr. Swartz. But what about the return for the Celtics? Let’s take a look:

"For Boston, Covington would be a perfect fit as the team’s new starting power forward. The 29-year-old averaged 12.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks this season between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Rockets, and he is under contract for only $25.1 million over the next two years.Gordon would give the Celtics a former Sixth Man of the Year to bring off the bench, and getting another draft pick would help in future trade talks."

Well shucks, that’s not a half bad explanation. Boston would immediately benefit from the presence of Covington and Gordon, while also adding yet another second-round draft pick to their cupboards. All of the 3-point shooting coming in the deal is perfectly complimentary of Jaylen Brown’s, Kemba Walker’s, and Jayson Tatum’s individual attacks on the offensive end. Plus, the pair is sturdy defensively.

Gordon’s deal isn’t great, but Covington’s is a steal. Adding those two now would make the Celtics an immediate contender. Doing so in the offseason would be genius of Danny Ainge no matter how this current series plays out.