Great minds think alike. Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale and the Houdini both agree that this is the best way the Boston Celtics can add a star in the offseason.
When it comes to attaining a star player in the offseason, few teams are as well positioned to do so as the Boston Celtics are. The Houdini has been able to cover so many possibilities because of the endless imagination of Danny Ainge coupled with his slew of incoming draft picks that makes the Boston Celtics a player on the trade market.
One such possibility exhausted around here quite often is a possible Gordon Hayward trade this offseason. His injury history in Boston has been tragic, but at the end of the day the team has not been able to rely on him. As an expiring deal, his contract has value for the Cs and another team in a hypothetical swap. Anyone who acquires him can flip him as an expiring asset at the trade deadline to desperate fringe contender.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale sees the value of Hayward’s deal as well, noting what the Houdini has long believed: his $34 million team option can be combined with several Ainge picks to bring in a superstar:
"Any interest the Boston Celtics might show in targeting another star is immensely conditional. They’re not busting up what already might be a championship core to fix what isn’t broken. Rigidly translated: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart aren’t going anywhere.Hayward’s $34.2 million price point is steep, especially given all the injuries he’s incurred since joining the Celtics, but most acquiring parties won’t bring him in to be their present or future No. 1 or No. 2 option. Huge expiring contracts are a form of long-term cap relief. He allows Boston to sponge up another massive deal that stretches past 2020-21.…they have goodies they can tether to Hayward’s deal, including three firsts in this year’s draft, all their own picks moving forward and cost-effective youngsters like Carsen Edwards, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams and Robert Williams III."
Favale knows what we know: Hayward can be a ticket to a splashy acquisition.
Then again, he could be a huge acquisition to the 2019-20 Boston Celtics’ hopes of advancing past the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals. Down 0-2, Hayward’s mere presence is a morale boost for a team that could use an additional wing. Javonte Green’s presence is a cherry on top for that.
The Houdini would love to stop mentioning trade talks to break up this core. The results need to justify it, though. Can Hayward make me eat my words tonight in a pivotal Game 3?
Because, coincidentally, I am pretty hungry.