Boston Celtics: Why Gordon Hayward will prosper in green

Gordon Hayward has made it clear that he intends to sign with the Boston Celtics on a 4 year, $128 million deal, ending the long wait to find out where the highest ranked free agent small forward will end up.

Gordon Hayward is quoted as saying that there is “unfinished business” with his former (and new) head coach, Brad Stevens, in the letter he wrote that can be found on the Players’ Tribune about his decision to sign with the Boston Celtics.

What is the “unfinished business” you might ask? Winning a championship with Brad Stevens is that business.

It is often hypothesized that Hayward’s stats and his number of amazing individual performances will skyrocket. They have every right to do so. In fact, this article is about why you should believe that. Gordon Hayward has the chance to be the best Celtic in the Brad Stevens era. Here are two huge reasons why this could be true.

The system

Gordon Hayward, as stated before, has played for Brad Stevens before, so there shouldn’t be any surprises if Hayward has much success with Stevens’s system with Boston as he did with Butler. The pace and space offense that Stevens implements will allow for Gordon to hit the 3-point shot very often. He will love having a few isolation chances in which his coach is sure to give him.

Hayward will have plenty of scoring opportunities. His willingness to play within the offense will give some of his teammates a chance to provide points as well. Gordon Hayward no longer has to be the number one option every time down the floor. He also takes some of the pressure off of Isaiah Thomas to provide an insane amount of points.

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His skill set

Ever since Gordon Hayward was given the starting job in Utah in 2011, he has put up at least 14 points per game each season. He has also shot higher than 40 percent from the field in each of those 6 seasons. He is good at taking advantage of his size, using his 6’8 frame to grab rebounds over smaller opponents. Last year, he averaged 5.4 rebounds per game, which are solid numbers for someone who is not known to be a gritty player. Boston could use better rebounding numbers from every position.

Gordon Hayward is also good at distributing the ball. While not a lot of his passes turn into made shots, he makes sure that his passes usually lead the recipient to an open shot, whether a make or a miss. He averages 2 turnovers per game over his career, which is not bad, but not the best either. It won’t hurt the Celtics, as they are usually one of the more efficient teams in the league when it comes to passing.

Gordon Hayward is a solid defender, blocking off paths to the rim, while also denying passing lanes. He has quick hands, and he has put them to good use. He has averaged 1.3 steals per game over the course of the last 3 seasons. Boston will benefit from these steals.

Next: What's the next move after Hayward signing?

Gordon Hayward is the guy both Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge wanted out of this year’s free agent market, and that is who they got. Now that they’ve proven their worth in the Eastern Conference, as well as the NBA, and now Hayward will make them championship contenders. The Celtics dynasty might have just begun again.

Credit to nba.com for Gordon Hayward’s career stats that were used in this article.