Boston Celtics: Assessing every Knicks target in a Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade

Gordon Hayward is gone. Who can the Boston Celtics pry off of the New York Knicks in an attempt to muster up value as he departs?

The Houdini has been waiting a long time for the day Gordon Hayward would be dealt for anything of value. While free agency looms after the one-time All-Star declined his $34 million player option for the 2020-21 season with the Boston Celtics, there is still a chance the team can make something happen in the way of a sign-and-trade to recoup some value.

With rumors of the New York Knicks being involved in Hayward talks–which makes sense considering their recent opening up of cap space–, there is a great chance Danny Ainge could get more than fair value from a team that has been historically known to give way too much in deals no one was asking them to give up so much for.

Let us never forget the 2013 Andrea Bargnani debacle that led to the team giving up a first-round pick and Steve Novak even though the Toronto Raptors were intent on salary dumping his contract to an unsuspecting victim.

The Knicks are the victims we all should suspect at this point.

In reality, they do it to themselves. Year after year, it’s questionable draft choice after questionable draft choice (they always pass on the next big thing) and last summer, they have embarrassed themselves by creating cap space and hoopla to end up signing lower mid-tier free agents while watching rival teams sign their targets.

This is all to say: the Knicks are the perfect team to sign-and-trade Hayward to…and here’s how every possible Knick that could be returned in a deal would fit on the Cs: