Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is the latest to speak out about his disappointments this season. Following his team's season-ending 116-91 Game 5 defeat against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second-round of the playoffs, the 28-year-old admitted that this was not how he had envisioned the season playing out.
Hayward on his year: "Certainly, a frustrating and disappointing season. Challenging for me, individually. I think a lot of people felt that way throughout the course of the season."
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) May 9, 2019
Hayward was able to remain healthy for themost part of the season, but looked a shade of his former self. The former All-Star was shifted to a role coming off the bench, which predictably had an adverse effect on his production.
In 72 appearances for Boston, Hayward averaged only 11.5 points (on 46.6 percent shooting), 1.1 three-pointers, 4.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 0.9 steals in 25.9 minutes per contest. Although not terrible, these numbers are a far cry from his 21.9-point nightly output in 34.5 minutes per game during his All-Star year two season ago.
Article Continues BelowHayward then went on to speak about his plans for the summer, stating that he is excited to start working on his game again following a frustrating first full season with the Celtics.
Gordon Hayward on this offseason: "Just excited to get to an offseason to not have to deal with the injury and rehabbing. I'm going to put myself — it's going to be a really challenging offseason for me with the work I'm going to put in. I'm looking forward to that."
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) May 9, 2019
Hayward still has two season remaining on his current four-year, $128 million deal. Nevertheless, next season will be an extremely important year for him in terms of proving his worth as a player.
Does he still have what it takes to play at the highest level and perhaps, demand one final big-money deal, or will he end up as an overpaid second-string stud? Hayward has done exceptionally well in coming back from a gruesome, career-threatening injury, so we're definitely hoping it's the former.