The Golden State Warriors are in a very tough bind next season. They have no bench, Kevin Durant is gone, Klay Thompson will miss next season (but still take up close to $40 million in cap space with a max deal), DeMarcus Cousins is likely gone, Steph is taking up $40 mil, and Green is taking up $16 mil in the last year of his deal. Basically, Golden State has miminal cap space, and a top heavy roster that has holes.
Unless they want to waste a year of Curry’s prime (which is going to end soon, as age 33 is generally when players reach the end of their prime and begin to free fall afterwards), Golden State would be wise to make some key moves to give themselves a shot. And why not, when you still have Steph Curry.
On the other side of the country, you have this team called the Boston Celtics. They are also in a tough spot. They lost their point guard Kyrie Irving (we’ll right an article about him next), their big man in Al Horford, and still have some salary cap bloat.
Want to know what can relieve this bloat? Getting rid of a few players. Such as a certain Gordon of the Hayward variety.
Gordon Hayward is a small forward who’s been in the league for like, what, 9 years? His best season was in 2017, his last year with the Jazz, where he averaged 22/4/5 while playing 35 minutes a game. In 2018, he was out for the year with a devasting leg injury like so:
And in 2019, he averaged 12 5 and 3, or something like that. I don’t feel like checking. Actually never mind, I still have the tab open so I’ll check. Okay he averaged 11.5, 4.5, and 3.4. So I was right. But same thing, so that’s why I didn’t want to check. Where was I again? Oh yeah, that’s right. Gordon Hayward didn’t play very well last year because he was still rusty. Brad Stevens still forced him into the lineup however, to a point where it may have caused friction with the young dudes.
Obviously, Gordon Hayward was hurt. But now, he is 29 years old, and at this point, given the leg injury he had, he’s probably not gonna really get much better than what we’ve seen. So if you’re the Boston Celtics, do you really want to pay a 30 year old whose best season was 22/4/5 up to $30 million dollars a year, even if it may risk chemistry issues with your two young stars? Getting Kemba Walker complicates the issue further.
That’s where this article was conceived. Golden State needs a guy that can score. But they probably don’t want to just get any random guard. They need a small forward, because small forwards are in important.
Now now, we just talked about Gordon’s flaws. But the reality is, Gordon Hayward may be a good fit for Golden State, despite his flaws. His flaws won’t even be as apparent in Golden State. There won’t be chemistry issues because Steph Curry is the clear ball handler, and between KD and Klay not playing next year, they don’t really have much scoring options anyway. Gordon Hayward is also a 6’9 small forward – something Golden State kinda needs, given that Andre Iguodala is the only other wing they have.
Draymond Green? Trade him for Hayward.
He got exposed in the Finals. He needs to have Steph and/or Klay on the court at the same time so they can get doubled, pass the ball to Green, let him make one dribble, and then let him lob it up to Looney or some other player that can dunk.
Draymond Green can’t shoot like he did in 2016, his ball-handling skills are rough to watch at times, and can be left alone on the perimeter. He can make good passes, and is an excellent defender – which is invaluable – but he’s not someone that any team would really want to pay $35+ million a year for. Because let’s be realistic. He’s a third option at best.
So you might as well get something in return for him before his contract expires. So take on Gordon’s contract. Yes, Gordon Hayward has his own flaws. And he costs more. But Gordon Hayward gives you better scoring which will benefit Steph this year and beyond. Gordon Hayward also has better shot-creation abilities. And in Golden State’s system, Steph Curry is the key to everything. Him being able to run around is enough to let the ball-movement flow excellently. So as long as Curry is there, get Hayward.
Now, obviously, Gordon Hayward is by no means a great player. Heck, this trade isn’t even that good of an idea; it’s purely circumstantial. Gordon isn’t a high intangible player. He doesn’t take over games. He’s a simple, within the flow type player. Green is an emotional leader. So losing him will be devastating.
But hey, they probably won’t keep Green anyway. And Gordon Hayward’s contract only has like 2 or so years left anyway. So it’s not like it’s a dead weight.
