Boston Celtics Looking To Replace Gordon Hayward

© 2107 Jordan Long

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On July 14th, 2017, the Boston Celtics signed prized free agent, small forward Gordon Hayward.  The contract was 4 years, $128 million, paying him $32 million a year.   The hope was that Hayward would be a scoring threat, run the offense, and play defense.  Boston had championship aspirations for this year.
          

On Tuesday, the Celtics traveled to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers to open their season.  It was the first time to see Hayward in a Boston Celtics uniform.  Unfortunately, his debut lasted only 5 minutes.  Hayward was going up for an alley-oop pass with 6 minutes and 45 seconds left in the 1st quarter.  When he was jumping up, Cavaliers small forward LeBron James knocked the basketball away while playing defense to prevent an easy score.  Hayward collapsed under the basket.  He was moved from the court in a stretcher and didn’t return.  X-rays showed he dislocated his ankle and fractured his tibia.  The Celtics lost the game 102-99 and will be without Hayward for the rest of the year.

           

According to ESPN, Head Coach Brad Stevens said, “You hurt for him. He's put in a lot of great work.  And I thought he had his most comfortable week as far as feeling like he was going to play really well.  But now we'll hopefully get a full recovery, right?  And so it's a tough deal, but I guess that's part of it, the risk of injury.  I really feel for him."

           

That’s a big loss for the Celtics.  Hayward was going to be the starting small forward.  His presence on the court would take the pressure off Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris to be the scoring threats this season.  Hayward was also going to look for center Al Horford down low for easy baskets.

           

Now with Hayward out for the season, Jayson Tatum becomes the starting small forward.  Tatum is a rookie and doesn’t have Hayward’s NBA experience.  Once he plays a few games, Tatum will learn about playing at the NBA level.  If he struggles, Boston will look at their roster to replace him.  They are lucky to have depth at the small forward position with Semi Ojeleye and Abdel Nader behind him.  If they fail, Boston might want to consider a trade for a starting small forward.  Luckily, they have plenty of time to replace Hayward.