Where do people see Horford after his contract is over? What do we see Hayward doing after year three when he has a player option?
I could flip a coin with Horford on a cheaper contract. Hayward, I have no clue. Brown and Tatum, if they have become young stars would be in year 5 and 4, respectively, where do they fit?And Hayward will be looking for another big pay raise, so will the Celtics pay him or trade him?
Also, if the team wins a title in three years, how does that impact the scenarios?
I'd love to hear opinions. All opinions are welcome, but please be respectful
I see Horford retired.
I can't see him remaining very effective by age 33-34 given how much he;s already declined the past 2-3 seasons.
Hayward I feel will probably stick around.
You see Horford retired at age 33?
With guys like Udonis Halsem, Pau Gasol, David West, Nick Collison, and Zach Randolph all still playing? Who are all 35-37 years old.
Paul Gasol doesn't belong on that list because he was an elite two-way big and perennial all-star who also happens to also have elite size (7'0" / 250 lbs / 7'5 wingspan) that allows him to remain effective in the league for longer, since that size allows him to shoot right over guys, grab rebounds right over guys and affect shots on defence without having to get much elevation or movement. Hence why a guy with elite size (like Gasol or Howard) is more likely to last in the league. Hence why he put up arguably better numbers last year at 36 then Horford did at 31..lol
Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph also happen to be the only guys on that list currently who aren't on the fringe of "completely useless".
* Haslem averaged less than 2 pts, 2.5 reb and 10 mins over the past two seasons
* Collison averaged as above last season
* West was comparatively beastly, putting up 4.6 pts and 3 rebounds in his 12.6 mins year
Those guys may not be retired, but all three of them may as well have done so 3 seasons ago, because they aren't doing anything to help anybody on the court right now.
Zach Randolph is the only one on that list who has remained effective, and that has a lot to do with the fact that he has freakish length (allowing him to play bigger than he is) plus the fact that his game based mostly around power rather than finesse. Unlike Hoford he stills bangs down low, and he still gets after rebounds - he doesn't try to be something he isn't and go chasing people around on the perimeter and popping up four threes a game.
Likewise Randolph didn't see a drop off in production starting at the age of 28 like Horford has. The last time Horford saw a rise in statistical production was in 2013/14 when he was 27 years old. Since then it's been a steady decline both statistically and physically - you can clearly see he's not as mobile/athletic as he was 2-3 years ago, and that mobility was a big part of what made him such a special player.
Last season was:
* The first time in Horford's career that he shot below 50% from the field (I'm not counting the 49.9% in his rookie year)
* The first time in Horford's career that he averaged below 7 rebounds per game
* His lowest scoring average (14.0 PPG) since his second year (2008/08 season at age 22)
* The equal second lowest eFG% of his career after his rookie year (tied with his 2nd year)
* The second lowest TS% of his career after his rookie year
And he had just turned 30...it's not looking good.