The Boston Celtics will not have a lot of spending power this summer to add talent to the roster as they build the next iteration of the team in the 2024 NBA offseason. But they could still add talent via the minimum exception, and Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey could see a reunion of sorts happen to such an end with veteran forward Gordon Hayward.
“Going from a high-value player to one on a minimum contract can happen fast in the NBA, and … Hayward may have reached that point this season,” suggests the B/R analyst of what he himself describes as an “optimistic” free agent target for the Celtics.
“He turns 34 this month and is averaging just 4.3 points since being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder,” notes Bailey.
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“For Boston, he could fill a role (of a veteran wing) while being younger (than some options out there) and bringing more experience as a volume scorer,” he suggests.
We do think such a reunion would be optimistic if only because Hayward would likely still find a larger role with a commensurate payday, if only of the midlevel exception sort.
That’s out of the Celtics’ likely reach next season, but as is said around these parts every once in a while — anything is possible (even if unlikely here).
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