Team doesnt need "Veterans" to help Tatum and Brown continue to grow.
Already have Kemba who had the biggest impact so far in their growth of any vet they have played with.
And Gallo easily replaces Hayward, for 1.
No he doesn't. He doesn't replace the playmaking and the above average defense that Gordon gives us.
Tatum replaces the Playmaking.
The defense is not necessary off the bench from a scorer, Langford will provide bench defense with Grant Williams.
Last season:
Per 100 Assists - Turnovers
Kemba: 7.4 - 3.2 (7 - 2.5)
Smart: 7.3 - 2.6 (6 - 3.5)
Tatum: 4.3 - 3.3 (6 - 3.5)
Hayward: 6 - 2.7
Assist% - Turnover%
Kemba: 24.2% - 10.5%
Smart: 21.1% - 12.1%
Tatum: 14.5% - 10.2% (21.3% - 11.3% in playoffs)
Hayward: 18.7% - 11.2%
Huge improvements from Tatum in the playoffs, but even using his season numbers, Kemba was the best playmaker, Marcus the second best, and tatum right there close to Hayward for the 3rd best.
So we are talking about the necessity of replacing the 4th best playmaker on the team. (I am sure though that some will argue about Hayward and his Hockey assist)
Hayward was tied for second in the secondary assist on the team with Tatum but only 0.1 ahead of Smart, Wannamaker, Brown and Theis.
For potential assists Hayward was third on the team in the regular season, but 4th in the playoffs with Tatums numbers having exploded.
The fact that Hayward is even in the debate with two ball dominant guards does more to discredit your argument than anything. Of course those guys will have higher assist numbers. Doesn't make Hayward any less important as a secondary playmaker from the wing. Tatum getting there as a playmaker, but we need a bigger sample size. That playoffs run could just be a hot streak, for all we know. And defense is very important for every player on the court. It doesn't matter that some other player is a good defender; it irrelevant to the conversation at hand.
The debate is that if Hayward goes we have no secondary playmaker and would need one.
I showed that at best Hayward was the 3rd playmaker, not the secondary one. And looking at Tatums improvement in the playoffs, he would be the secondary playmaker, Smart the thrid playmaker and Hayward the 4th playmaker.
So if Hayward leaves team would need to replace the 3rd 4th playmaker. A decent PG in the draft can do that, an MLE signing PG can do that. Improvement from Brown or Romeo can do that, it is not an irreplaceable skill.
For his defense, he is a smart team defender, but Romeo does have the potential to be an excellent defender, so more time for Romeo along with health and improvement can replace Gordons defense.
Hayward is the 4th option on the team, that is all. 4th options are replaceable.