Should Celtics Consider Any Of These Hypothetical Gordon Hayward Trades?

Although the Boston Celtics have been plenty busy this offseason, it’s no sure thing that they’re done making moves.

The most recent move was the waiving of Guerschon Yabusele, which opened a roster spot on the new-look Celtics. But with salary cap space tight, is it possible that a trade could be in the works? Nobody really knows, but that hasn’t stopped folks from floating some ideas.

In a piece published on CBS Sports, Brad Botkin suggested four possible trades centered around Gordon Hayward. Most of these deals are focused around Hayward so that the Celtics can match money and still get a valuable player in return.

Here’s what he wrote.

The Celtics are heavy on wings and super light on bigs. Hayward is making $32 million this year and has a $34 million player option next year, meaning the money would work with, say, a deal for Kevin Love. Perhaps a deal with Houston centered on Clint Capela. Maybe something with OKC for Steven Adams. Would Orlando move off Mo Bamba and Evan Fournier to make the money work for a rejuvenated Hayward? That would make for a good team in Orlando, and the Celtics would get an immediate need and future building block in Bamba, with Fournier to replicate Hayward’s production.

Who knows what deal might be out there. And who knows if the Celtics would even be interested in moving Hayward, who could be their second-best player if he returns to form. But it’s a possibility now two years removed from that terrible broken leg/dislocated ankle, if Hayward looks more like his old self to start this year he could have some trade value even at his high salary. Remember, the Celtics also have attractive draft picks they could attach to him.

While trade proposals are fun in theory, it seems hard to believe the Celtics would give up on Hayward at this point, even with their superfluous amount of wings. They invested a lot in him two years ago, and if he’s able to return to All-Star form this season after working his way back from a devastating injury, the Celtics would be frustrated to have given up on him too early.