Seriously, if you had a do-over and could head into this Summer with max cap...

[CelticsElite]

I know that this is a hypothetical but we signed Hayward before the Irving trade.  I don't think that Boston expected IT to come back so the whole salary situation really changed.  After we got Irving and found out how good Tatum is, yeah, $31M tied up in Hayward suddenly looks a whole lot different.

Let's give him chance to actually play though before we start to do the "what ifs".  I don't think this will become a contract that is a problem.

how does $31 mill look different? Hayward is still our best 2 way player. He’s a bonafide superstar and all star. What exactly do you think Hayward is worth? He was going to get paid significantly more by the jazz

It is not a question of whether or not Hayward is worth $31M, it is a question of whether or not it is the best way for the Celtics to spend the $31M.  What changed is that when we signed Hayward, we didn't have Irving and we didn't know what we had in Tatum (or even Brown for that matter).  Now we need to pay Irving and we are going to build around Irving, not Hayward.  To me, the equation around the value of paying Hayward $31M has changed.  It still may be good but the context has certainly changed.

how does Tatum or brown have any relevance in haywards signifance on the team? brown is the 2 and Tatum plays the 4. Hayward at the 3. Regardless They're all great wings for the modern era of positionless basketball, so I truly don't understand what you're trying  to say

 Hayward will make us better. So how is that bad for the team? For a team that couldn’t buy a bucket many times throughout the playoffs, he’s the perfect fit for whatever price he is

[Erik]

The flaw here is assuming Hayward can still play, he’s worth a max deal to every team. That means he’s an asset. He could be used to sign and trade for LeBron or any other free agent. Don’t think of illiquid assets. They are very liquid. He can be dealt to any team at any moment (again, assuming health).

[KungPoweChicken]

The flaw here is assuming Hayward can still play, he’s worth a max deal to every team. That means he’s an asset. He could be used to sign and trade for LeBron or any other free agent. Don’t think of illiquid assets. They are very liquid. He can be dealt to any team at any moment (again, assuming health).

Assuming he can play at his career high level from the 2016-17 season seems to be a dubious proposition. He may get back to that level at some point, but it probably won't be to until the 2019-20 season, if ever.

[gouki88]

The flaw here is assuming Hayward can still play, he’s worth a max deal to every team. That means he’s an asset. He could be used to sign and trade for LeBron or any other free agent. Don’t think of illiquid assets. They are very liquid. He can be dealt to any team at any moment (again, assuming health).

Assuming he can play at his career high level from the 2016-17 season seems to be a dubious proposition. He may get back to that level at some point, but it probably won't be to until the 2019-20 season, if ever.

Based on what?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Hypothetically, if Durant said he wanted to go to Boston, it might be something to consider. Otherwise, I'd rather have Hayward.

The prospect of getting some value for Hayward while getting a similar player is interesting.

It's a human sport. It'd be tough on Hayward, the Celtic players, and especially Brad Stevens to do that without significant evidence that Hayward will be a detriment to the team moving forward, which isn't going to happen.

We made our bed. Our max players are Irving, Hayward, Horford, Tatum, and probably Brown. Let's right them to another chip.

[Erik]

The flaw here is assuming Hayward can still play, he’s worth a max deal to every team. That means he’s an asset. He could be used to sign and trade for LeBron or any other free agent. Don’t think of illiquid assets. They are very liquid. He can be dealt to any team at any moment (again, assuming health).

Assuming he can play at his career high level from the 2016-17 season seems to be a dubious proposition. He may get back to that level at some point, but it probably won't be to until the 2019-20 season, if ever.

I don’t see why he wouldn’t be the same player yet. If for some reason he isn’t, yeah sure I’d like to do a redo or dump him for another free agent. Who the hell wouldnt? This entire argument is pointless. I’d also like to have drafted Kobe Bryant in 96.

[liam]

The flaw here is assuming Hayward can still play, he’s worth a max deal to every team. That means he’s an asset. He could be used to sign and trade for LeBron or any other free agent. Don’t think of illiquid assets. They are very liquid. He can be dealt to any team at any moment (again, assuming health).

Assuming he can play at his career high level from the 2016-17 season seems to be a dubious proposition. He may get back to that level at some point, but it probably won't be to until the 2019-20 season, if ever.

I don’t see why he wouldn’t be the same player yet. If for some reason he isn’t, yeah sure I’d like to do a redo or dump him for another free agent. Who the hell wouldnt? This entire argument is pointless. I’d also like to have drafted Kobe Bryant in 96.

If we drafted Kobe wouldn't we have traded him to the Lakers for Vlade? Ouch! That would've hurt...

[Fred Roberts]

I want Hayward.

Also,  I like the option of keeping Smart!

[Casperian]

how does $31 mill look different? Hayward is still our best 2 way player. He’s a bonafide superstar and all star. What exactly do you think Hayward is worth? He was going to get paid significantly more by the jazz

Lebron is a superstar. Durant is a superstar. Hayward carries their bags.

[pearljammer10]

I wouldn’t change anything except for maybe going after Durant. And that’s an of for me. Hayward is the right choice.

[Csfan1984]

Felt Hayward was a max caliber player so can't say it was a bad pick up.

I didn't feel the same way about Horford. And still don't lol

[Surferdad]

Felt Hayward was a max caliber player so can't say it was a bad pick up.

I didn't feel the same way about Horford. And still don't lol

I'm not posting much since G7, but it amazes me to come back to CB and STILL see folks disrespect what Horford meant to this team.  I would argue that among centers, he is the best 3-pt shooter and passer in the NBA.

Hayward is a max player.

[gouki88]

Felt Hayward was a max caliber player so can't say it was a bad pick up.

I didn't feel the same way about Horford. And still don't lol

I'm not posting much since G7, but it amazes me to come back to CB and STILL see folks disrespect what Horford meant to this team.  I would argue that among centers, he is the best 3-pt shooter and passer in the NBA.

Hayward is a max player.

The only competition there would probably be Jokic, but he can't defend a traffic cone.

Horford does definitely irritate me sometimes, but he's an essential part of this team

[Csfan1984]

Felt Hayward was a max caliber player so can't say it was a bad pick up.

I didn't feel the same way about Horford. And still don't lol

I'm not posting much since G7, but it amazes me to come back to CB and STILL see folks disrespect what Horford meant to this team.  I would argue that among centers, he is the best 3-pt shooter and passer in the NBA.

Hayward is a max player.

Blame Horford's disappearing acts for the disrespect.

[Vermont Green]

I know that this is a hypothetical but we signed Hayward before the Irving trade.  I don't think that Boston expected IT to come back so the whole salary situation really changed.  After we got Irving and found out how good Tatum is, yeah, $31M tied up in Hayward suddenly looks a whole lot different.

Let's give him chance to actually play though before we start to do the "what ifs".  I don't think this will become a contract that is a problem.

how does $31 mill look different? Hayward is still our best 2 way player. He’s a bonafide superstar and all star. What exactly do you think Hayward is worth? He was going to get paid significantly more by the jazz

It is not a question of whether or not Hayward is worth $31M, it is a question of whether or not it is the best way for the Celtics to spend the $31M.  What changed is that when we signed Hayward, we didn't have Irving and we didn't know what we had in Tatum (or even Brown for that matter).  Now we need to pay Irving and we are going to build around Irving, not Hayward.  To me, the equation around the value of paying Hayward $31M has changed.  It still may be good but the context has certainly changed.

how does Tatum or brown have any relevance in haywards signifance on the team? brown is the 2 and Tatum plays the 4. Hayward at the 3. Regardless They're all great wings for the modern era of positionless basketball, so I truly don't understand what you're trying  to say

 Hayward will make us better. So how is that bad for the team? For a team that couldn’t buy a bucket many times throughout the playoffs, he’s the perfect fit for whatever price he is

Ah, this may be the root cause of our difference here.  I do not see Tatum as a "4".  I see him as a "3" (wing) that can play as a big in certain limited small line ups.  You can talk positionless all you want but you still need to be able to defend bigs and rebound.  Tatum isn't all that great of a defender even at "3".

I am not suggesting that Hayward is going to become a bad contract.  I believe he will heal in time and return to form.  But if he was a free agent right now instead of last season, I can't say that for sure we would pick him to spend our max contract on.

Maybe, it depends on who else is out there.  More likely to me, we don't sign anyone to a max deal, but sign someone more like Favors allowing us to keep Smart.  Then play Tatum at 3 (at his natural position in my mind) and Favors as a big alongside Horford.  I am not suggesting that Favors is as good as Hayward but he is a better fit and leaves money on the table to do other things.

I don't expect that anything like this is going to happen.  We are likely going to start the season with Hayward although probably coming off the bench.  Certainly not the end of the world.  It actually should be a very exciting team next season with Hayward and Irving back.