Boston Celtics: Proposal finally sees Danny Ainge involved in Gordon Hayward, Myles Turner swap

The white whale of the Danny Ainge era as general manager of the Boston Celtics, at least the latter stages of it, was a Gordon Hayward trade for Myles Turner to correct the team’s former big man issues.

In 2019-20, the Cs were machine-like in their execution when Hayward was out of the lineup and the combination of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum were winning games with Daniel Theis serving as the perfect complementary piece at center. Theis served his role well, but there was a strong desire for another big man option considering Robert Williams’ development and injury history to that point and Enes Kanter (now Enes Freedom) and Vincent Poirier being the next bigs off the bench after him.

Ainge never pulled the trigger on such a deal even when there were rumors that the Indiana Pacers would be interested in acquiring Hayward in a sign-and-trade during the winter of 2020’s free agency period — one that was pushed back from the summer due to the NBA season COVID-19 suspension that saw the postseason pushed back to the late summer/fall that year.

Now, in a new Bleacher Report mock trade in a piece titled ‘New 3-Team NBA Trades Where Everyone Wins,’ Ainge–who is now the President of the Utah Jazz–finally gets involved in a deal involving Hayward and Turner:

"Jazz Receive: T.J. McConnell, James Bouknight and a 2027 first-round pick from Charlotte (top-five protected)Hornets Receive: Jordan Clarkson, Myles Turner and Buddy HieldPacers Receive: Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee, a 2023 first-round pick from Charlotte (via Denver), a 2025 first-round pick from Charlotte and a 2026 second-round pick from Utah (via Memphis)"

The 2019-20 Boston Celtics were a missed opportunity

During the 2020 bubble postseason down in Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Robert Williams and Grant Williams both showed they could perform with the lights shining brightest. They proved the Cs big man problem was slightly overblown, but Gordon Hayward being absent for most of the playoffs only to return and provide replacement-level production could always haunt fans that saw championship potential in that group during Kemba Walker’s last prime season.

You can’t help but wonder if Danny Ainge could have gotten that team over the top had he found a suitable deal for Hayward during the season, whether it was for Myles Turner or for someone else able to contribute more than 10.5 points per game in the Eastern Conference finals.