Boston Celtics: B/R suggests trading Hayward to Indiana Pacers again

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus listed four ways the Boston Celtics can rival the Los Angeles Lakers, and one of them includes trading Gordon Hayward to Indiana.

This was a worst-case scenario kind of season for the Boston Celtics, but last season was so toxic that this one seemed like roses in comparison. That said, an objectively bad thing happened to the Cs on a historical level this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers tied their NBA Championship total at 17. LeBron James–a historical rival to not only Paul Pierce but to entire franchises at this point–was the one to lead them there to boot. Oh, and while we’re at it, longtime Anthony Davis was his co-pilot.

Fun.

Either way, change is most certainly needed this offseason. It would be a fool’s errand to run this team back and expect them to magically make a leap after another season together. Danny Ainge may be running the risk of letting inactivity lower the team’s ceiling.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus decided to tackle the task of building the Cs into a legitimate rival of the Lakers, and one of his suggestions involved a Houdini past-time…trading Gordon Hayward:

"Assuming the Celtics do give Tatum a maximum deal, Boston would have about $105-111 million invested in just four players for 2021-22. If Hayward expects a new deal near the $20 million range per season, Boston would be making a long-term commitment to paying luxury taxes.But if the Celtics do hope to improve by trade this offseason, Hayward may be the movable piece that can bring back a player under a substantial salary."

He continues, getting into the specifics of such a deal:

"Speculatively, if the Indiana Pacers were interested in breaking up their big-man tandem of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, would they be interested in a deal for Hayward, Poirier and Nos. 14 and 26 in the draft for Doug McDermott, TJ Leaf and Turner?“Not a bad idea. I’m sure they could come up with something win-win revolving around those two players and picks,” the first Eastern Conference executive said. “Boston will retool for sure.”"

It sounds like the man they call “Trader Danny” will be living up to his nickname this offseason. If all the speculation–including our own intuition–is correct, Hayward will be in a different uniform this coming offseason.