And this is coming from someone WHO LOVED BRADLEY, and when it came for trade rumors and what not, I was always hoping we could somehow keep AB while trading Crowder among others (and I love Crowder and his contract too). It's definitely sad to see Bradley leave especially considering he was the last link to the Big 3 Team from 2008-2012.
But while it definitely hurts to lose Bradley after all this time, especially for just Marcus Morris.... it seems like a lot of people forgot that we added Gordon Hayward.
Avery Bradley is an elite defender in the league, and one of the better two-way players in the game (don't let his absence in the All-NBA Defense Teams affect your stance on that, because that was BS). A guy who could score 16-18 PPG and play elite defense is someone who is a great player, and frankly a tad bit underrated in an era and league where it seems like scoring and average PPG is an "indicator" of how well you play.
But Gordon Hayward is a legit all-star, who has played many years in a tough Western Conference, and while his defense may not be Bradley-level, it is still above average (actually, still VERY GOOD and a bit underrated). Hayward also has the size to match up well against other forwards on defense, AND offense (hello Lebron! Time to actually try on defense more.)
IN THE MOST RECENT POSTSEASON, Gordon Hayward averaged 26 PPG/7 RPG/4 RPG. I know it's really 24/6/3, BUT don't forget, Hayward left one game really early due to food poisoning (after just 9 minutes) and so he only scored 3 points that game. Take that "food poison game" out and it's really 26/7/4. Also, Hayward played A LOT of the 4 in the postseason and his defense reportedly took a huge step forward during the playoffs. But of course, against the Warriors... you need like 4-5 all stars to have a chance against them lol. Still, Hayward also had a huge Game 7 against LAC on the road (scoring and defense) and carried them to the win in the 4th as well, allowing them to advance.
All those Crowder, Bradley bricks (even on open looks) are shots Hayward is capable of making in his sleep (easy). Hayward is someone who can legitimately take over games, something you can't say of Bradley. While Hayward becomes the #2 guy on THIS Celtics team, he's someone you'd much rather have than Bradley in games where Isaiah struggles, and you need someone else to step up and score late in games.
Again, I'll miss Bradley a ton, and I didn't mean to trash on AB with this thread, but I'm just saying, YES, we did get a lot better with the addition of Hayward, and my guess is, we keep IT+Smart as a result, and still have the trade assets to pull off a trade for another star in the future (or hope any or all of Brown/Tatum/Zizic/2018 BKN Pick become all-stars as well).