Hayward Talks 2018-19 Failure

[Ed Monix]

Gordon Hayward on the shortcomings of a loaded 2018-19 Celtics squad.

"We all had too many agendas, and the agenda to win the whole thing wasn't the main one."

[ozgod]

Goes to show you can assemble a team of champions but it won’t automatically turn into a champion team. Need everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Everyone had their own hymn sheet:

Cryrie - show that he’s the man and leader
Smartacus - show that’s he’s the real leader and team heartbeat
Gordie - try to recover from his injury
Tatum - show that’s he’s the man so he can get paid
Jaylen - show hes as good at JT so he can get paid
Rozier - show he’s a starter so he can get paid
Mook - show he’s a starter so he can get paid
Al - don’t mind me I just don’t want to mess up

[SparzWizard]

That was probably the worst season of the JT era.

Esp with Kyrie at the helm and a banged-up Gordon Hayward.

[Ed Monix]

That was probably the worst season of the JT era.

Esp with Kyrie at the helm and a banged-up Gordon Hayward.

I think it all comes down to health.

Looking back at the 2017–18 season, obviously none of us can forget Hayward’s devastating injury, but Irving also missed a significant amount of games at the end of the season.

Brown, Tatum & Rozier got a taste of being stars, and never wanted to go back.

[cman88]

that team was a big disappointment. so much talent returning after just having made it to game 7 of the NBA ECF. you could tell there were issues gelling. one of the most talented roster wise teams yet biggest disappointment.

brad never could get them to gel. in a way kind of brings into perspective how long we've been close yet so far from a championship.

those 2 years are a big what if to me had Hayward never gotten injured. say we have hayward/kyrie in the playoffs that year we probably get past that poor excuse for a cleveland squad. the celtics went on a huge run the beginning of that year without hayward...

but at the end of the day I think Kyrie is just toxic and it seeped into the team. he also had 1 foot out the door that year he came back and just didn't care.

you need guys to buy into their roles and to sacrifice. its refreshing watching the team this year buy into that.

[Roy H.]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

[Phantom255x]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

Yeah that's a really good point. And Brad definitely values talent, he's been 100x more aggressive in trades than Ainge was. Even at the deadline Brad makes moves which was rare in the 2010s when Ainge would stand pat even on 2nd rounders.

[bdm860]

Goes to show you can assemble a team of champions but it won’t automatically turn into a champion team. Need everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Everyone had their own hymn sheet:

Cryrie - show that he’s the man and leader
Smartacus - show that’s he’s the real leader and team heartbeat
Gordie - try to recover from his injury
Tatum - show that’s he’s the man so he can get paid
Jaylen - show hes as good at JT so he can get paid
Rozier - show he’s a starter so he can get paid
Mook - show he’s a starter so he can get paid
Al - don’t mind me I just don’t want to mess up

I've said this before, but I think it was the uncertain futures that lead to the different agendas/chemistry issues.  I wrote this back in 2019, and don't forget a big potential Anthony Davis trade was looming over the team:

I think a big piece of the chemistry problem is too many guys with uncertain futures.

Not just the young guys, but seemingly everybody's status is uncertain:

* Kyrie is a free agent who might decide to leave
* Tatum, Brown, Smart, Ojeleye, Yabusele, Williams - some combination of these guys will be moved in an Anthony Davis trade, and everybody knows it.
* Morris, Rozier, Theis - all free agents, and Morris and Rozier aren't expected to return, and the team might not be able to afford Theis either.
* Hayward, while he has a huge contract that nobody would trade for, I bet in the back of his mind he's worried he's going to get traded. "I haven't produced in 2 years, the teams going to try to unload me."
* Horford and Baynes have player options.  You think it's in the back of their mind that they're going to opt in in June only for Danny to trade them in July?

I think when you look around that locker room, 90% of the guys have serious doubts that they will be back next year, and 100% of the guys have no idea who their teammates will be next year.  I think this is part of what's leading to chemistry problems.

Compare that to a team like Toronto, Kawhi's status is up in the air, but most of the rest of the team probably thinks they'll be back.  MIL, IND, and PHI all have a ton soon-to-be free agents, but their superstars are all in place, and most of the guys with expiring contracts know their teams will be trying to retain them.  I think there's a lot less uncertainty in those locker rooms.

[Phantom255x]

Kyrie is obviously the biggest punching bag and there's no doubt about it, but I also think in a way that deep playoff run in 2018 may have hurt us. In the sense that Rozier, Morris and even Jaylen to an extent got inflated egos and thought they were way better than they really were. That also contributed to all the chemistry issues throughout the season. Rozier even went on shows on ESPN after the season and basically said all this and claimed he was a legit starter and didn't want to be a passenger.

[footey]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

Yeah that's a really good point. And Brad definitely values talent, he's been 100x more aggressive in trades than Ainge was. Even at the deadline Brad makes moves which was rare in the 2010s when Ainge would stand pat even on 2nd rounders.

Agreed.  Danny was a talent accumulator, and very good at that. But building a roster he struggled to do, after the fall of the big 3.

[Kernewek]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

After watching him squander the better part of that season trying (and failing) to bring Hayward back up to speed at the expense of the better players on his roster, I don't blame him.


It does feel peculiar to talk about Ainge's issues with building a roster when the roster in question, 2018-2019, was arguably our deepest roster of the last few years, though.

[Who]

One of the most disappointing and irritating teams I have ever seen. So talented but so selfish. No commitment to team goals.

[cman88]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

After watching him squander the better part of that season trying (and failing) to bring Hayward back up to speed at the expense of the better players on his roster, I don't blame him.


It does feel peculiar to talk about Ainge's issues with building a roster when the roster in question, 2018-2019, was arguably our deepest roster of the last few years, though.

sure it was deep. but it was a collection of uber talented players that ultimately didn't fit together. where brad has excelled and danny lacked is brad was able to put that talent together in trade packages for guys who more fit what they were trying to do.

danny in the end got too bent up on "hoarding assets and talent" so we end up losing people like rozier for nothing...

[celticinorlando]

I hated that team. Just a chore to follow.

[Moranis]

I think that that team has really informed Brad's philosophy as a GM.  I don't think that you'll see him taking many chemistry risks, which is why he seems to value "know your role" veterans like Kornet.

After watching him squander the better part of that season trying (and failing) to bring Hayward back up to speed at the expense of the better players on his roster, I don't blame him.


It does feel peculiar to talk about Ainge's issues with building a roster when the roster in question, 2018-2019, was arguably our deepest roster of the last few years, though.

sure it was deep. but it was a collection of uber talented players that ultimately didn't fit together. where brad has excelled and danny lacked is brad was able to put that talent together in trade packages for guys who more fit what they were trying to do.

danny in the end got too bent up on "hoarding assets and talent" so we end up losing people like rozier for nothing...

the team also lacked true top end talent.  Should have gotten Kawhi. We'd have that Raptors title if he had.