An executive of the Boston Celtics believes small forward Gordon Hayward will be back in a âbig wayâ in 2019-20.
Hayward struggled in 2018-19, as he wasnât able to regain his All-Star form after suffering that gruesome ankle injury in 2017-18 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night.
Hayward was often times a liability on defense for the Celtics since he didnât have his lateral quickness back. The hope in Boston is Hayward will get back to his old self on both ends of the floor next season now that heâs two years removed from the injury.
âWhen you see him every day over the last two years, you know how much this is killing him,â the exec told Keith Smith of Celtics Blog. âHe came to Boston for a reason and that was to win a title. But we saw late last year how good he can be. We think heâll be back in a big way. Brad (Stevens) has some cool wrinkles on how Hayward will be used this year on both ends of the floor.â
Gordon Hayward played in 72 games this past season. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc and 83.4 percent from the free-throw line.
At this point, what else is this Celtics exec supposed to say? Hayward will make $32,700,690 next season. The exec isn't going to bash Hayward when the swingman is set to make that much money.
If Hayward can average around 15-18 points per game for the Celtics next season, that will be a win for Gordon and Boston.
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