Gordon Hayward isn’t the player the Celtics hoped he would be when they signed him to a 4-year deal prior to last season. Part of that is he isn’t the same player he was before he suffered a devastating ankle injury at the beginning of last season.
Will Hayward eventually get there and be the player he once was? Only time will tell.
During Saturday night’s loss to the Warriors, Hayward played 22 minutes off the bench and managed just two points. According to WatchStadium.com‘s Jeff Goodman, the poor performance had an unnamed Warriors player calling Hayward a “liability” on both ends of the court.
Via Celtics Blog:
“I talked to a Warriors player who told me, ‘listen, Gordon Hayward is not Gordon Hayward right now,’ said Goodman on the Garden Report. He’s hurting them.’ the anonymous player continued. ‘He’s a liability on both ends of the court.’ ‘
The Celtics are going to need Hayward to start getting closer to the player he was in Utah. If not, the unnamed Warriors player is right, Boston will have to add someone before the trade deadline.