Poll: Has Hayward already had his best season as a Pro

[KG Living Legend]

 This question was posted by Pho in the Jayson Tatum thread. I think it's a perfectly fair question to me.

  It just seems like this too many people in haywards  way to get that many touches and put up those kind of numbers ever again, but it's certainly possible so what do you think.

[GreenEnvy]

There are a number of great players who had their best statistical season at a similar age (or younger). I’m sure there are other greats who had better ones later in their careers.

Not sure if this thread is supposed to highlight the injury or the fact that he had a great season at 26 that he now may not replicate, but nobody really knows what kind of player Hayward will be this season.

Hayward’s injury isn’t unprecedented. Neither is his contract. His statistical drop from pre-injury to post-injury isn’t either. And if he returns to form, that also won’t be unprecedented.

It was a great signing. The events that unfolded since don’t change the fact that you sign him 100 times out of 100 if given the opportunity, coming off that age 26 season.

[ozgod]

It's possible that his output drops from 2016 because he's not the No1 option, but he becomes a better player. His efficiency may get better or he may end up having a multiplicative effect on his teammates but he won't average as many points because of those around him. We'll see.

[trickybilly]

I did literally ZERO consideration of real issues with Hayward before clicking "NO!!!"

And promptly uncrossed my fingers and went about my day.

[Who]

Yeah probably ... but I thought the same about Paul George and he has improved year on year post injury and just had the best season of his career last season. So who knows?

[KG Living Legend]

Yeah probably ... but I thought the same about Paul George and he has improved year on year post injury and just had the best season of his career last season. So who knows?

 That's a great point Who. TP. Don't count the guy out right.

[Celtics4ever]

I hope not but only time will tell.

[Birdman]

He never be the player as he was at Utah

[Rosco917]

He won't get the touches necessary this year in Boston to be the number one or two option. Not with Brown in a contract year, Tatum trying to show everyone last year's performance was a fluke, and Kemba taking his normal volume of shots.

Part of Haywards job this year is to be a facilitator similar to Big Al on the offensive end.

[PhoSita]

I think in all likelihood he has.  I think he may very well have at least one season where he's an important part of a very good team, and in that sense he might arguably have a better season ahead of him.  But in terms of raw numbers, his peak year in Utah is probably going to be his apex, imo.

[nickagneta]

Statistically, he may have put up the best PPG for his career in one season, but "best" season doesn't mean highest PPG. There are many, many other ways to determine abest year as a pro.

KG is a perfect example. I think 2008 was his best year as a pro, even if statistically it wasn't. I would guess KG would say the exact same thing.

Hayward can have his best year still in him without scoring 20 PPG, especially if his excellent play leads to deep post season success.

[Hoopvortex]

Statistically, he may have put up the best PPG for his career in one season, but "best" season doesn't mean highest PPG. There are many, many other ways to determine abest year as a pro.

I guess it depends on what statistics you look at.

I agree with you.  They got Hayward because he does a lot of things that win games; he’s the proverbial “Swiss army knife”.

[Somebody]

Statistically, he may have put up the best PPG for his career in one season, but "best" season doesn't mean highest PPG. There are many, many other ways to determine abest year as a pro.

KG is a perfect example. I think 2008 was his best year as a pro, even if statistically it wasn't. I would guess KG would say the exact same thing.

Hayward can have his best year still in him without scoring 20 PPG, especially if his excellent play leads to deep post season success.

Hm I'll have to disagree about KG. His best season was probably one of his 03 or 04 seasons where he was wrecking the league as an incredible two way force with a video game skillset, but yes I think your point about highest PPG!=best season in career is spot on.

[Walker Wiggle]

That 2016-17 season for Hayward was absolutely filthy. Scored 22ppg on fewer than 16 shots (!), for the slowest-paced offensive team in the league... along with 5.4 rbs and 3.5 ast.

With that said, I agree with the other posters when it comes to distinguishing between best individual season and best season, period. I don't think he'll ever score 22 ppg again, but he can be an excellent contributor to a championship team. The point is to win, after all.

[PhoSita]

That 2016-17 season for Hayward was absolutely filthy. Scored 22ppg on fewer than 16 shots (!), for the slowest-paced offensive team in the league... along with 5.4 rbs and 3.5 ast.

With that said, I agree with the other posters when it comes to distinguishing between best individual season and best season, period. I don't think he'll ever score 22 ppg again, but he can be an excellent contributor to a championship team. The point is to win, after all.

It was a really good season, but it should be noted he was playing on a team where the next best isolation scorer was perhaps Joe Johnson.

The second and third leading scorers on that Utah team were George Hill and Rudy Gobert.