This is terrible for Boston, and I hope he comes back, or allows a sign and trade.
Hayward was really good for Boston last year. Got hurt in the playoffs, fluke injury. I think if he had been healthy, they beat MIA (probably get waxed by the Lakers).
Jeff Green is obviously a maddening player, but I think not having him in 11-12 is what made them lose to the Heat. He was a more capable Lebron defender than Brandon Bass, who defended Lebron a ton in the playoffs (Pierce was also banged up). It was a huge loss not having Green for that series, heâs not a Lebron stopper by any means, but Bass had no chance.
I forgot that Kristic was in that trade, too.
What do you guys think of a S&T with Indy. Oladipo + something for Hayward?
The obvious trade target is Myles Turner. Dipo seems like a worse return because he is expiring and wouldnât re-sign.
Yeah I assume Boston wants Turner, but how much leverage do they actually have? Would they rather have Hayward just sign with the Knicks and lose the asset? At least Dipo is an expiring with potential.
I think they should prefer to give the Knicks a second round pick to bring back a trade exception.
Iâd prefer Oladipo to just getting a trade exception. Heâs got a more viable path to helping this year. If heâs garbage, his contract is effectively an exception for the rest of 20-21 (I know the Exception weâd get for a full calendar year, where Oladipoâs contract expires).
Unless Tatum / Brown take another big leap (which is possible), losing Hayward for nothing would likely eliminate their title chances this year. Plus - with COVID, isnât there a pretty strong chance weâre looking at another title decided in the summer? Gives Oladipo more time to heal (though I donât know enough about his injuries to know how much that will help). Theyâve got enough in the regular season tank that they can give him at least some time.
To slightly defend my take, I agree keeping Hayward is better than losing him for nothing, but think it would be far better either to sign him to a longer term deal at lower money or trade him. Think it would be pretty hard to trade him on a 1/$34 contract, so by turning down the extension, Boston still has flexibility to bring him back or trade him.
It also helps Boston that all the teams with space this offseason are pretty bad, so if Hayward wants to go to a team with title shot, itâs likely going to have to be a sign and trade.
The Celtics need to think beyond this season. Their roster as constructed is built to reach its true window of contention in a couple of years. Players like Hayward and Walker are more like placeholders until that time.
If Oladipo doesnât recover, the Celtics donât resign him. If he does, he leaves because there will be teams with cap space in 2021 who will pay more than Boston. And he wants a max contract, so heâs not going to be content as the fourth option.
The Celtics would be better off getting a trade exception and using it to acquire pieces that fit who can be expected to be in Boston beyond this season. If losing Hayward for nothing means the Celtics can use the full MLE, that player will probably have more long-term value to the Celtics than Oladipo even if Oladipo has more upside.
Donât think thatâs true. Having Tatum/Brown on smaller contracts was as good as possible for Boston.
Letâs consider the possibility that Ainge is smarter than Milwaukee and Sacramento and a lot of this is an orchestrated act to avoid even the perception of tampering when some sort of sign and trade has already been agreed upon.
For some reason I thought declining the option precluded a s&t.
Yeah I was wrong if thatâs the case, extending the window mustâve been to eliminate all offers involving that angle but thatâs just one piece of due diligence.
Agreed, it was like a rookie contract qb on a contender (esp later round guys like Russ with Seattle and Dak with Dallas).
Now theyâre going to get boxed into building around those two with ancillary pieces.
Extending the window for two days and then having him decline the option would really be superfluous for that move.
Tampering charges are few and far between (there has to be an aggrieved party that files the charge, and then they foot the bill on the investigation). Everyone is fine with the rules and then how things are really done (historically look at all those FA deals that were signed within minutes of when negotiations were first allowed at midnight), the problem with the Milwaukee deal was it was being announced in a way that was clearly a violation based on the timeline.
Extending the window and then declining the option makes it look like Hayward was contemplating a tough decision. Some people believe that Hayward wouldnât decline his option without having a big deal already lined up.
Iâm not saying the decision was definitely pure theater, but it could be.
Me.
But thatâs the usual for the NBA. No reason to go above and beyond to avoid the perception of normalcy.
What Iâm saying is that Tatum and Brown are developing ahead of schedule, which opened the window of title contention a bit earlier.
Ainge was criticized for having a weak bench, but Iâd argue that the benchâs biggest problem is a lack of experience. Williams, Williams, and Langford of 2-3 years from now on the Celtics could be the core of an outstanding bench. I think Ainge is sticking to his timeline of that being when the true window of contention starts. Anything before that is just gravy and he wonât make any win-now trades for a rental.
I dont think thatâs true. Thatâs still the old way of thinking young players arenât good until theyâre like 25. The window opens the second you have a decent team with lottery players. If theyâre not good until you have to pay them, they added little to no value.
Ainge is know to go above and beyond. He has a reputation for multiple smokescreens to hide his true intentions.
Watch it end up being a sign and trade to a team no one was expecting.
Itâs Boston. A single title isnât enough. Some fans want to fire Ainge for only getting one title out of Pierce/Garnett/Allen.
I think theyâre willing to give up some title equity now in the hopes of having a longer run of contention. Iâm not saying Ainge doesnât want to win a title now, but he is not going to give up assets or flexibility that he wants to have in a couple of years for a win-now deal.