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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.
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Hayward 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.
