Hayward has been wayward, and Gordon could be a goner from Beantown this offseason. The Houdini believes the Atlanta Hawks would be a good trading partner for the Boston Celtics this offseason for the $34 million small forward.
If you’ve been following Hardwood Houdini since May of 2019, you’d know that one of my main motivations in this life is to trade Gordon Hayward off the Boston Celtics. As much as I appreciate the man making a return during the postseason and missing the birth of his fourth child, I know that the best thing for both parties is a split.
If you love someone, let them go. I never met the 2017 All-Star and I don’t throw L-bombs like that liberally, but the sentiment remains: the best thing for Hayward and the Celtics is to explore what else is out there.
I’ve spent a great deal of the last year-and-a-half finding deals with just about every franchise imaginable. In recent weeks, I have used him in deals to acquire the likes of Chris Paul, Victor Oladipo, Jrue Holiday, Myles Turner, Andre Drummond, and more. Just this morning he was the main piece in a four-team James Harden megadeal.
I love trading Hayward, and honestly, I’m pretty sure Danny Ainge will too when he finally decides on a package to pull the trigger on and let go of the Hayward experiment once and for all.
Perhaps a team that makes sense could be the Atlanta Hawks per Zach Lowe:
"The bidding for Holiday and Beal figures to center on Denver, Golden State, and Brooklyn — and to some extent Atlanta, Miami, and Dallas. The Hawks might try nabbing Holiday using their No. 6 pick — which they would be open to trading for veteran help, per several sources — but I don’t see that alone getting it done. Would they attach one of their young wings?"
Instead of using the pick on Holiday, perhaps the Hawks can find synergies with the Cs on their former All-Star forward. Here are 3 reasons why Atlanta is a good trade partner for the Boston Celtics: