Hayward has no ill will towards Celtics!

[SHAQATTACK]

Is this the guy we had on the team before Payton Pritchard?

beats me ?

[wiley]

Let me fix that last quote.

"Certainly couldn't be more excited about how much money I’m making now. And looking forward to seeing my bank account."

I think 99% of us would have done the same.

If that's true, I am in the 1%.

I think that’s easy to say when you’re not looking $120 million dollars in the eye

On the contrary, as Kevin McHale as GM of the Wolves told Kevin Garnett's agent during a past negotiation, " What can your client do with $120 million that he cannot do with $100 million. These guys salaries' are so out of line with reality, it's ridiculous. They should be set for life making $1 million for 1 year if they had any sense.

I agree and disagree.  Losing a lot of games is not fun, so if Charlotte does not turn things around that will be a tough part of being Charlotte.  And so in the agree sense I think Gordon should have stayed on a contender.

But it's not fair to leap to the conclusion that Hayward's decision is all about the money (agree the money is great).  People underestimate how competitive these guys are and I would think a former all star who had two/three years lost to horrific injury would be chomping at the bit to play a leading role and getting his game back to a high level, to prove to himself that he's still got it.  Hayward is still young enough that that could be a very valid and understandable component to his choosing Charlotte.  He simply would not get the time in Boston as both J's are taking over the scene  here.

Finally, just because he chose Charlotte doesn't mean he chose it easily or greedily as some seem to think.  He had to weigh losing more games over a chance to re-establish himself in the league...the money part I would think did help sway it to the latter, but that doesn't mean he's "all about the money".  In fact I think that's a silly take and for some fans just sour grapes talking...

[timpiker]

Great news!

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30430043/gordon-hayward-turns-page-excited-next-chapter-charlotte-hornets

For Hayward fans this is a big win.  After making 90 million and logging 71 starts over three seasons, Hayward bares no ill will towards the organization!

Regardless of Hayward's statements, the question demands asking: Should Hayward bare ill will towards the Celtics organization over their treatment of him?  Your thoughts?

No ill will towards us?  This has to be a joke. 

[ozgod]

LOOL to be honest I don't know if the OP (whose been a perennial Hayward opponent) is being serious or posing a fair question................

I wish GH well in CHA. If he stays healthy I look for him to average 23-26 points, 6 rebs, 5 assists a steal and a block per game and more than likely make an ASG or three there.

He's certainly capable of it - with 34 min per game.

GH, Kyrie and Horford were supposed to be the "Anti-Golden State"......the "Small Ball East"....Danny was careful and meticulous in his work crafting it.

Now? The NBA is shifting MORE towards TRADITIONAL Basketball....LAL is a bit more of a shift back to that....and we ALSO have the rise of The Jays....they have both continued their upwards trajectory and I believe Jaylen will make a leap this year, too.

Perhaps the ONLY player(s) able to keep THIS MANY quality mouths fed were Larry and Magic. In real life that is TOO MANY mouths to feed.

GH has basically played himself out of BOS, IMO....and The Jays rise has facilitated it, IMO.

Not Hayward's fault but time - and BOS - has moved on. Not his fault for the gruesome injury and the other minor setbacks he had.

Not his fault that Kyrie was injured, too - and wanted to move on to BKN. I don't completely fault Kyrie for THAT move, either, even though I hated to see him go as well.

Dude stayed IN THE BUBBLE for BOS - while his son was being born - in order to try and help us get past MIA....he did this even though he was supposedly RUSHING BACK a bit early from his ankle injury.

I wish GH well - as I do Kyrie.

I'm not sure what @IDreamCeltics is going to do now that Hayward's no longer with the Celtics...he may need to make an account on the Hornets forums to continue his favorite pastime 

[libermaniac]

I love how he says that they are still in touch with people from the Boston community TO THIS DAY. Um, it’s been like 3 weeks since he signed with Charlotte. 😂

[Neurotic Guy]

I wish him well but am mostly indifferent. Unlike Ray Allen he didn’t sign for less money with a present rival. RA irritated me while GH’s move is understandable — plus DA may reap some benefit from the departure. So he’s not a Celtic anymore and that’s all that matters — he could average 10 or 30 points a game for Charlotte and it won’t make any difference to me.

[footey]

Personally I will be rooting for Gordon to have great success in Charlotte.

I hope he makes the All Star team this season. 

I hope he averages 20 plus PPG. 

I hope Charlotte makes the playoffs.

They will be my second favorite team in the NBA. 

He has such bad luck, the worst imaginable when you think about it: only 5 minutes in to his very first game as a Celtic, and sustains a horrific injury.

He is due for some good luck finally.

God speed, Gordon Hayward!

[Roy H.]

Let me fix that last quote.

"Certainly couldn't be more excited about how much money I’m making now. And looking forward to seeing my bank account."

I think 99% of us would have done the same.

If that's true, I am in the 1%.

I think that’s easy to say when you’re not looking $120 million dollars in the eye

On the contrary, as Kevin McHale as GM of the Wolves told Kevin Garnett's agent during a past negotiation, " What can your client do with $120 million that he cannot do with $100 million. These guys salaries' are so out of line with reality, it's ridiculous. They should be set for life making $1 million for 1 year if they had any sense.

Between taxes (Federal, state, city), agent fees, etc. his $120 million becomes $60 million.  Does he tithe?  Another 5% - 10%.  Let’s predict a future divorce.  He’s down to less than $30 million, plus future child support and alimony.  Assuming he just lives off of interest, is it so wrong to leave your kids $7 million each in inheritance?

I will never begrudge somebody maximizing their earnings.

As an aside, what is your investment strategy for making $1 million last a lifetime for a family of six?

Sure I would, but what does that have to do with Hayward making a dubious choice based on the difference between $120 and $100 million dollars. All things being equal, I would have understood Hayward choosing Indiana over the relatively similar situation you describe above. This just looks like a money grab and maybe an ego boost, choosing a situation where he can be leading scorer again - never mind that his new team will be competing for nothing significant.

You a night owl too, Roy ?

I tend to be.  It’s the only quiet time in my house, haha.

With GH, I think his first priority was to go home.  My guess is that Charlotte wanted an answer, and there was no guarantee that Danny and IND were going to reach a deal.  So, he took the sure thing.

I also wonder how much culture played into it.  He grew up in conservative Indiana and was drafted by conservative Utah.  A place as far-left (and legitimately anti-conservative) like Massachusetts might have bothered him.  Add in the terrible luck, reduced role, bad weather.  As a neutral party, I’d tell him to head to NC myself.

[SHAQATTACK]

The route he chose to finish his career is a bit bewildering for me.  despite the the reasons Roy listed   .  I somehow grew to think of him as a basketball die hard , no satisfaction unless i have a ring  " I earned  ".    .....not glommed on to a Lebron /AD type team. 

Like Al. ..he chose a path that most likely will wind his career down in a sputter with little fan fair ,ony to be remembered for his horrible inury ..to be replayed forever .

Sad .....i d stuck it out in Boston ,helped recruit build the team back up and make a few runs before hanging it up or went to Indy and did the same. 

Basically he threw in the towel as a player ,  taken top money and join Al Horford in bar talking about how it could have been.  That's kinda hard for a basketball guy like me who wished  he had been given their opportunities just once.

[SparzWizard]

The route he chose to finish his career is a bit bewildering for me.  despite the the reasons Roy listed   .  I somehow grew to think of him as a basketball die hard , no satisfaction unless i have a ring  " I earned  ".    .....not glommed on to a Lebron /AD type team. 

Like Al. ..he chose a path that most likely will wind his career down in a sputter with little fan fair ,ony to be remembered for his horrible inury ..to be replayed forever .

Sad .....i d stuck it out in Boston ,helped recruit build the team back up and make a few runs before hanging it up or went to Indy and did the same. 

Basically he threw in the towel as a player ,  taken top money and join Al Horford in bar talking about how it could have been.  That's kinda hard for a basketball guy like me who wished  he had been given their opportunities just once.

Well he wanted money, and did not want to play for cheap even after 3 years worth of injury. So good riddance, hope his career is tainted to some capacity and that he will most notably be remembered for his injury stint in Boston than his skilled career in Utah Jazz or his Charlotte Hornets days.

[Valid]

What is with our fanbase and becoming strangely obsessive over players who leave?

Hayward left because Charlotte offered him more money. Just about every other player in the league would have done the same thing. He said absolutely nothing negative about the organization. He left on good terms. He could have had a tremendous career here, but the opening night injury in 2017-18 sabotaged it and probably cost us a title (or at least a finals appearance or two).

It's nobody's fault. He was an All-Star, and Ainge paid him like one. He would have been great here if the freak injury didn't happen, but it did. He got back to an All-Star level this past season, but another injury ruined him in the playoffs and 100 percent cost us a finals appearance. It is what it is.

Being mad at a player because he took more money to play elsewhere is childish and makes us as a fanbase look bad. And I hate to break it to everyone here, but the booing and jeering of Kyrie when he WASN'T EVEN IN THE ARENA last year looked downright pathetic. Kyrie was only here two years and only played in one playoff run. His departure shouldn't have elicited that type of response, and the fact that people here are still intent on ripping him to shreds any moment they can is actually pretty silly.

I could see doing it with Ray Allen back when he left, because Allen took less money to play for our biggest rival and crapped all over the organization and his former teammates on his way out the door (and continues to do so). Being angry at Kyrie at first was somewhat understandable, but it's something that we should have let go long ago. But Hayward? Come on. He did absolutely nothing wrong. He's a good guy and I am rooting for him to do well. I wish him nothing but the best.

We need to stop looking for excuses to be bitter and just focus on the team we have.

[Valid]

The route he chose to finish his career is a bit bewildering for me.  despite the the reasons Roy listed   .  I somehow grew to think of him as a basketball die hard , no satisfaction unless i have a ring  " I earned  ".    .....not glommed on to a Lebron /AD type team. 

Like Al. ..he chose a path that most likely will wind his career down in a sputter with little fan fair ,ony to be remembered for his horrible inury ..to be replayed forever .

Sad .....i d stuck it out in Boston ,helped recruit build the team back up and make a few runs before hanging it up or went to Indy and did the same. 

Basically he threw in the towel as a player ,  taken top money and join Al Horford in bar talking about how it could have been.  That's kinda hard for a basketball guy like me who wished  he had been given their opportunities just once.

Well he wanted money, and did not want to play for cheap even after 3 years worth of injury. So good riddance, hope his career is tainted to some capacity and that he will most notably be remembered for his injury stint in Boston than his skilled career in Utah Jazz or his Charlotte Hornets days.

See? This is exactly the type of disgusting BS I was talking about in my post above. You are openly wishing bad on someone because they chose to leave your favorite sports team. It's embarrassing and is akin to the behavior of a petulant child. Grow up.

[Greengang5]

Hayward got paid, yes.  But like I said at the start of free agency he would also have to decide if he wanted to be a #1/#2 or #4 on a pseudo contender (which Boston is right now).  Also, if he liked being on an up and coming team like his time in Utah. I would hope any player that still thinks they have prime years left would want a larger role and get as much responsibility as possible.  It would be crazy not to want to be a #1/#2 on an NBA team.  If you said no then you are lying. He could be out of Charlotte at age 33/34.  Why can't he latch on with a contender at that point? The charlotte contract isn't necessarily his last.

Edit: and some of these responses are disgusting. If you are that wrapped up with being perceived as mr.celtics superfan and wishing ill and crap on someone then you need a reality check.

[liam]

I wonder if Brad regrets giving Hayward all that unearned playing time? Brad really coddled Hayward with , I guess, an eye to the future.

[CelticsElite]

I wonder if Brad regrets giving Hayward all that unearned playing time? Brad really coddled Hayward with , I guess, an eye to the future.

hayward was an all star before he came here. He earned it