I love Gordon It just didn’t work out in Boston. A mixture of things between injuries wrong time and roster construction. Wish him the best in retirement. I will not be one of the Celtics fans speaking down on him because realistically in 2020 he was the key to us winning. Hayward had a bad stretch of injury luck. It is what it is.
Well said. Not sure he would've lifted the Celts to a title but they could've possibly made it to the Finals if he were healthy. Definitely a major "what if" situation. Man, I still "what if" the Lenny Bias tragedy. I was very young then but had an idea about what happened at the time. I was at Chris Ford's basketball camp when the Reggie Lewis tragedy was on the news. Just imagine if those 2 had a chance to develop together. It's not unreasonable to think the Celtics would have another title or two up in the banners.
@@cranekraken24 I always point this out when people say the Celtics are lucky. Yes they are very lucky to have a lucrative franchise with a lot of success the lost titles in nba history. They also had their 2 cornerstones after bird literally die and set the franchise back for over a decade. People love to talk about how the Celtics only have now three titles since 1986, but they do not provide context as to why. I completely agree. It is not a crazy thing to say the Celtics could have another one to three titles, but when I say that people say Celtics fans are spoiled, which they may be. 🤷♂️
As a Celtics fan, I'm still haunted at what happened in that Opening Night game. There was so much hype and expectation coming in with Kyrie and Hayward coming in and it was over just like that.
One of my most enduring memories of Warrior basketball came in Mar 2019 when Haywood dropped 30 in less than 28 minutes. He was in the zone that night.
He was great the year after, 17 ppg great shooting percentage as the 4th option in 2020 and the celtics were rolling but he got hurt again which is unfortunate.
Thanks Gordon. I am a big Celtics fan and was really hyped for your arrival. The injury stung to see, I have broken bones a few times and one was very similar to yours but in my arm and it's such a shock to see your body not right. Glad you got past that. Your comeback was fated to fail with the difficulties of the team around you, too much talent and too much young talent clashing. I was critical of you, but because I wanted you to be more aggressive, not that you got the ball too much. You were very efficient and I wanted more of it. I think some of the strain had more to do with the NBA always being focused on the next guy and Brown got a bit sent to the kid's table that season after a breakout second year.
They wouldnt have gotten Conley. At the time Conley had the biggest contract in the NBA. hayward was getting his money. They wouldnt have both of them.
Coming to Boston, Hayward's highlite tape was littered w/ alleyoop dunks...I was PUMPED....until his first alleyoop-try in green...Season over, Hayward moved from elite player to borderline All-Star
chemistry is the biggest difference between a brad stevens built team and a danny ainge built team. it's first on Brad's list, maybe third on Danny's, haha
lol idk if he was tryna stir up drama asking that but Stephen A was right. The Celtics didn’t need Gordon Hayward to start anymore after he got injured. They were too deep with too much talent
I vaguely remember that season but I felt Boston was playing well and then he came back and they didn’t look the same. It’s hard for superstars or stars to shift from that role to role player that fast. Carmelo talked about that when he was in OKC.
Really too bad that Gordon got injured that first year in Boston. Would've been curious to see how that team looked over the course of a full season sample size. That 3rd season in Boston he was actually playing pretty well but then of course he had another freak injury fracturing his arm running through a screen and then sprained his ankle in game 1 of the first round against philly. Obviously things worked out for Boston but still one of the more interesting what ifs.
man, the more I hear about that ‘19 Celtics team, the more enamored I get with how that season went. That team had no chance of success once Irving and hayward got hurt the year before. Those young dudes were so hungry, you can’t blame that on just Kyrie. Way too many agendas going on.
As a Celtics fan, it's sad to say, but my thoughts on Hayward are that he just couldn't stay healthy. It wasn't just the one freak injury. 2020 Bubble he goes down Game ONE of the first round sweep of Philly and comes back hobbled against Miami in the Conf Finals. That team with a healthy Hayward/70% Kemba should have beaten Miami. Now they probably lose to the Lakers in the Finals, but it was another bullet point in a long list of setbacks/playoff disappointments.
A lot of those injuries were preventable too sadly... flukey freak as fuck. A lot of them were Embiid or Bam moving screens injuring his hand, or Marcus' hip, or Kemba's already injured knee, or Jaylen's shoulder. I'm getting mad remembering it. FUCK! CONSTANT uncalled illegal moving screens. You don't know how many times I was yelling at the fucking TV "CALL THE MOTHERFUCKING MOVING PICK! IF THEY DON'T CALL IT, DIVE INTO HIS FUCKING KNEE SO HE CAN'T AND WON'T BE DOING THAT SHIT" I wrote a whole movie in my head on how the league would've been different if our guys had just stayed healthy and not gotten fucked over by bullshit injuries by bullshit players. But too many of the guys are friends offcourt so they'll never exact revenge or sportsvigilante justice like we do in football or hockey.
Yeah no one talks about how good he was in 2020, kemba was hurt and JT first time seeing doubles in the playoffs ends end up turning the ball over and over in crunch time vs Miami but a healthy hayward and kemba would have prevented that.
That injury was both Hayward's and Boston's what-if for that period. If he stayed healthy that would have given enough time for Brown and Tatum to grow into their roles without having unreal expectations. Brown got yanked in and out of the starting line-up in 2018-19 and killed his confidence as a result. Stevens tried to do the right thing for Hayward but it was obvious they couldn't hold back the younger players any more, Kyrie had his own meltdown and that was pretty much it. Kemba was a much better vet but he wasn't the best talent on the team and it showed. Of course behind the scenes some of these players could have and should have hashed things out much better than they did. They would have likely trounced Cleveland with a healthy line-up in 2018, they almost did it with rookie Tatum and sophomore Brown. Who knows what would have been their ceiling had things worked out well for them in terms of health.
Russillo is right about his JB/Kyrie assessment and it's something people seem to forget. That 2018 season set JB back massively. He ended up signing a team friendly deal $106M/4 then went on to average 20ppg/All Star/All NBA/Finals MVP all on that same deal. I think he in part blamed Kyrie (who did "son" him, "The young guys don't know what it takes to be a championship level team.") for that and for the way the 2018 team crumbled. But why would he care now? He's on top of the world. New massive deal, Finals MVP, etc. Nothing but love at this point.
JB was pissed because Gordon instantly got his starting position back. Then it compounded because all the young guys were riding high from the year prior almost making the finals. If you see all the players interviews years later, none of the Celtics blame Kyrie. They’ve all accepted blame in that debacle. Kyrie didn’t make Tatum play like he was Kobe 2.0 taking contested fadeaways all year, as opposed to driving it down the paint fearlessly like the year prior. And ultimately it needed to fail in order for the team to transition to the Js. They got a comparable PG in free agency in Kemba and now the focus was on the Js going forward. So I don’t see how you could say that year set the Js back significantly. They still got to the playoffs, went up 1-0 vs the Bucks and then the gentlemen’s sweep ensued. NOBODY on the Celts had an answer for Giannis. They hoped Yabusele could just truck him. And it’s not like any of the Js were stepping up for that defensive assignment either. Any all of the Celts went cold and couldn’t buy a bucket. But of course all ppl remember are Ky shooting horrible when he vowed game to game he’d be better, and for demanding to defend Giannis 1v1.
That team was immature.... remember Rozier chuck up bricks in the 4th game on the line situations.... that team everybody wanted to kill it... if we being honest a special coach could only handle it look Celtics were always good from 2017 to today but i must say Joe as a head coach must never be overlooked... special coaches make it work period even whereby JB starts the game... and All the Kyrie stuff is coming from Kyrie feeling like the fans say nah this shvt wont work.... but unlike tge fans he can just bounce think about it... it was toxic enough for AL to leave should mean something.... egos.... these finals make me realise if Kyrie stayed this would have been Bostons 3rd championship...if you fire Brad and get a manager instead of a Coach
JB was one of Kyrie’s biggest defenders thru the covid and antisemitism debacles…that was before JB became on top of the NBA. That was when people were openly questioning whether JB and JT can work with each other. Boston media incl Ryan trying to make it seem like JB went full circle but Kyrie and JB were always tight.
I remember before his first season in Boston that little time when he signed and the season was about to begin i was talkin so much shi* because on paper we really were the best team on paper we had so much potential it was sad to see it crumble. JT JB Kyrie Horford Hayward sheesh with Smart & Rozier on the bench LOL
Respect, everyone is coming to terms about ego above winning. Those celtics teams were my least favorite to watch. Worse than the tanking years before the Durant draft
That team lost because Danny Ainge refused to make a deal. They had like 7 players all fighting for playing time at 3 positions. Easily could have got AD but refused to make the deal. They could have also Traded for KD in the offseason and kept Kyrie but Ainge was just so focused on trying to make deals where he fleeced the other team.
AD said he wouldn't sign an extension. I think they wanted jaylen in the deal as well. We made the right decision. Ainge regularly tried to make trades. Every trade the other team wanted a kings ransom for a guy who had no intention on staying
@@neilbuckeye3809 that isn’t true ADs contract was till 2020. Yes they would have had to trade Jaylen Brown but most likely they would have won a chip before 2024 and been just as dominant till today. Also teams weren’t trying to rip off the Celtics it was literally the other way around in 2017 trying to trade for Ad without giving up Jaylen brown? You also have to factor in that even if Celtics did win 2024 they would never have traded for Kp, holiday, or Derrick white under Danny Ainge because he never traded picks. He would never have traded smart, Robert Williams. So I don’t agree that ainge made the best move because he is only good at building a team and receiving assets. He has consistently shown the lack of ability to use his assets. You also have to remember that had the Celtics gotten Ad and Kyrie with Tatum they would have been a well rounded team. Up until Celtics traded for both white and holiday the missing link was always pg. they traded for Kp and Ad is also a stretch 4/5. Tatum would have continued to grow and become elite. They probably never need to trade Smart and he would become a starter instead of 9th man. Al Horford was much better then compared to now. So overall they would have been basically the team they have in 2024 except they probably win a few more times but we don’t know for sure
I love Gordon It just didn’t work out in Boston. A mixture of things between injuries wrong time and roster construction. Wish him the best in retirement. I will not be one of the Celtics fans speaking down on him because realistically in 2020 he was the key to us winning. Hayward had a bad stretch of injury luck. It is what it is.
Agree just one of those "what if" guys, talented but plagued by injury
Well said. Not sure he would've lifted the Celts to a title but they could've possibly made it to the Finals if he were healthy. Definitely a major "what if" situation. Man, I still "what if" the Lenny Bias tragedy. I was very young then but had an idea about what happened at the time. I was at Chris Ford's basketball camp when the Reggie Lewis tragedy was on the news. Just imagine if those 2 had a chance to develop together. It's not unreasonable to think the Celtics would have another title or two up in the banners.
@@cranekraken24 I always point this out when people say the Celtics are lucky. Yes they are very lucky to have a lucrative franchise with a lot of success the lost titles in nba history. They also had their 2 cornerstones after bird literally die and set the franchise back for over a decade. People love to talk about how the Celtics only have now three titles since 1986, but they do not provide context as to why. I completely agree. It is not a crazy thing to say the Celtics could have another one to three titles, but when I say that people say Celtics fans are spoiled, which they may be. 🤷♂️
His ego couldn’t handle taking a backseat
It worked out well. He was a part of the 19-20 team
Wish it worked out for Gordon in Boston
As a Celtics fan, I'm still haunted at what happened in that Opening Night game. There was so much hype and expectation coming in with Kyrie and Hayward coming in and it was over just like that.
Skipped an accounting class in college for that. Ended up having a pop quiz and really tanked my grade to start the year. Brutal night lol
You two definitely coordinating the matching lululemon 😂
Holy crap! 😮😂 You're right
im a manager there and i recognized the clothes instantly i laughed so hard
Diabolical
One of my most enduring memories of Warrior basketball came in Mar 2019 when Haywood dropped 30 in less than 28 minutes. He was in the zone that night.
He was great the year after, 17 ppg great shooting percentage as the 4th option in 2020 and the celtics were rolling but he got hurt again which is unfortunate.
One team. 3 starting small forwards. Gordon is right
Thanks Gordon. I am a big Celtics fan and was really hyped for your arrival. The injury stung to see, I have broken bones a few times and one was very similar to yours but in my arm and it's such a shock to see your body not right. Glad you got past that.
Your comeback was fated to fail with the difficulties of the team around you, too much talent and too much young talent clashing. I was critical of you, but because I wanted you to be more aggressive, not that you got the ball too much. You were very efficient and I wanted more of it. I think some of the strain had more to do with the NBA always being focused on the next guy and Brown got a bit sent to the kid's table that season after a breakout second year.
I’ve missed Ryen talking NBA
Dude looks so much like Kobe it’s wild. He really needed to buzz his head at some point and embrace the albino Kobe look
Albino Kobe is hilarious 😂😂😂
@@Obiamajoyisrmdfr
I thought I was the only one who noticed. First noticed it on Podcast P
I aint never noticed, now I can’t unsee it!
russilos appliances look really nice
Can't imagine a real Celts fan who doesn't love Gordon and wish it worked out 1000% better. Best of luck in your post- hoops career
damn ryen in his messy ESPN bag on this interview you can even see him cringing at his own questions
Wdym
He knows what we wanna hear
that boston roster was ABSURD
He should never left Utah. Jazz would have him at prime, Rookie Donovan and Rudy at Dpoy season. Plus Mike Conley. They could have reached Conf Finals
They wouldnt have gotten Conley. At the time Conley had the biggest contract in the NBA. hayward was getting his money. They wouldnt have both of them.
I agree is not just talent you need toughness , defense , good coaching , clutch and some luck because even great teams and dynasty needs
When’s the last time that you’ve seen a player be on a max contract one year and then out of the league the next year
Ben simmons
12:36 still is
Coming to Boston, Hayward's highlite tape was littered w/ alleyoop dunks...I was PUMPED....until his first alleyoop-try in green...Season over, Hayward moved from elite player to borderline All-Star
chemistry is the biggest difference between a brad stevens built team and a danny ainge built team. it's first on Brad's list, maybe third on Danny's, haha
I’d love to see this theory fleshed out some more.
💯💯
lol idk if he was tryna stir up drama asking that but Stephen A was right. The Celtics didn’t need Gordon Hayward to start anymore after he got injured. They were too deep with too much talent
I vaguely remember that season but I felt Boston was playing well and then he came back and they didn’t look the same. It’s hard for superstars or stars to shift from that role to role player that fast. Carmelo talked about that when he was in OKC.
Really too bad that Gordon got injured that first year in Boston. Would've been curious to see how that team looked over the course of a full season sample size. That 3rd season in Boston he was actually playing pretty well but then of course he had another freak injury fracturing his arm running through a screen and then sprained his ankle in game 1 of the first round against philly. Obviously things worked out for Boston but still one of the more interesting what ifs.
man, the more I hear about that ‘19 Celtics team, the more enamored I get with how that season went. That team had no chance of success once Irving and hayward got hurt the year before. Those young dudes were so hungry, you can’t blame that on just Kyrie. Way too many agendas going on.
Now Kyrie and Boston played in the finals
As a Celtics fan, it's sad to say, but my thoughts on Hayward are that he just couldn't stay healthy. It wasn't just the one freak injury. 2020 Bubble he goes down Game ONE of the first round sweep of Philly and comes back hobbled against Miami in the Conf Finals. That team with a healthy Hayward/70% Kemba should have beaten Miami. Now they probably lose to the Lakers in the Finals, but it was another bullet point in a long list of setbacks/playoff disappointments.
A lot of those injuries were preventable too sadly... flukey freak as fuck.
A lot of them were Embiid or Bam moving screens injuring his hand, or Marcus' hip, or Kemba's already injured knee, or Jaylen's shoulder. I'm getting mad remembering it. FUCK!
CONSTANT uncalled illegal moving screens. You don't know how many times I was yelling at the fucking TV
"CALL THE MOTHERFUCKING MOVING PICK! IF THEY DON'T CALL IT, DIVE INTO HIS FUCKING KNEE SO HE CAN'T AND WON'T BE DOING THAT SHIT"
I wrote a whole movie in my head on how the league would've been different if our guys had just stayed healthy and not gotten fucked over by bullshit injuries by bullshit players. But too many of the guys are friends offcourt so they'll never exact revenge or sportsvigilante justice like we do in football or hockey.
Yeah no one talks about how good he was in 2020, kemba was hurt and JT first time seeing doubles in the playoffs ends end up turning the ball over and over in crunch time vs Miami but a healthy hayward and kemba would have prevented that.
It was weird seeing Hayward had such a bad attitude at the end of season press conference
You need to call a drug abuse hotline
@@AkeemGriffith-n2r weird comment
@@jackiemoon5906 Na, take my advice because I don't know how you could ever come upw with such bs
@@AkeemGriffith-n2r look at the other comments idiot
I've never seen a video of Hayward where it didn't look like he needed a glass of water
That injury was both Hayward's and Boston's what-if for that period. If he stayed healthy that would have given enough time for Brown and Tatum to grow into their roles without having unreal expectations. Brown got yanked in and out of the starting line-up in 2018-19 and killed his confidence as a result. Stevens tried to do the right thing for Hayward but it was obvious they couldn't hold back the younger players any more, Kyrie had his own meltdown and that was pretty much it. Kemba was a much better vet but he wasn't the best talent on the team and it showed. Of course behind the scenes some of these players could have and should have hashed things out much better than they did. They would have likely trounced Cleveland with a healthy line-up in 2018, they almost did it with rookie Tatum and sophomore Brown. Who knows what would have been their ceiling had things worked out well for them in terms of health.
Gh20 is too nice.
Russillo is right about his JB/Kyrie assessment and it's something people seem to forget. That 2018 season set JB back massively. He ended up signing a team friendly deal $106M/4 then went on to average 20ppg/All Star/All NBA/Finals MVP all on that same deal. I think he in part blamed Kyrie (who did "son" him, "The young guys don't know what it takes to be a championship level team.") for that and for the way the 2018 team crumbled. But why would he care now? He's on top of the world. New massive deal, Finals MVP, etc. Nothing but love at this point.
JB was pissed because Gordon instantly got his starting position back. Then it compounded because all the young guys were riding high from the year prior almost making the finals. If you see all the players interviews years later, none of the Celtics blame Kyrie. They’ve all accepted blame in that debacle.
Kyrie didn’t make Tatum play like he was Kobe 2.0 taking contested fadeaways all year, as opposed to driving it down the paint fearlessly like the year prior.
And ultimately it needed to fail in order for the team to transition to the Js. They got a comparable PG in free agency in Kemba and now the focus was on the Js going forward. So I don’t see how you could say that year set the Js back significantly. They still got to the playoffs, went up 1-0 vs the Bucks and then the gentlemen’s sweep ensued. NOBODY on the Celts had an answer for Giannis. They hoped Yabusele could just truck him. And it’s not like any of the Js were stepping up for that defensive assignment either. Any all of the Celts went cold and couldn’t buy a bucket.
But of course all ppl remember are Ky shooting horrible when he vowed game to game he’d be better, and for demanding to defend Giannis 1v1.
That team was immature.... remember Rozier chuck up bricks in the 4th game on the line situations.... that team everybody wanted to kill it... if we being honest a special coach could only handle it look Celtics were always good from 2017 to today but i must say Joe as a head coach must never be overlooked... special coaches make it work period even whereby JB starts the game... and All the Kyrie stuff is coming from Kyrie feeling like the fans say nah this shvt wont work.... but unlike tge fans he can just bounce think about it... it was toxic enough for AL to leave should mean something.... egos.... these finals make me realise if Kyrie stayed this would have been Bostons 3rd championship...if you fire Brad and get a manager instead of a Coach
JB was one of Kyrie’s biggest defenders thru the covid and antisemitism debacles…that was before JB became on top of the NBA. That was when people were openly questioning whether JB and JT can work with each other. Boston media incl Ryan trying to make it seem like JB went full circle but Kyrie and JB were always tight.
No one wants to admit it but I think terry rozier was the problem he had a massive ego coming off the 2018 playoffs
nah hayward should still play no cap
Time stamp ?
I remember before his first season in Boston that little time when he signed and the season was about to begin i was talkin so much shi* because on paper we really were the best team on paper we had so much potential it was sad to see it crumble. JT JB Kyrie Horford Hayward sheesh with Smart & Rozier on the bench LOL
RR needs to figure out his questions beforehand. Really meandering.
Ringer and Ryen crying that no one they actually ask hates Kyrie
Dude got paid a ton to not play
Well in hindsight it was doomed from day 1 if these guys were trying to prove they were all stars rather than title winners
Respect, everyone is coming to terms about ego above winning. Those celtics teams were my least favorite to watch. Worse than the tanking years before the Durant draft
Kyrie has wayyy more fans than you think. You’ve been hating on him for way too long long. Get a life
That team lost because Danny Ainge refused to make a deal. They had like 7 players all fighting for playing time at 3 positions. Easily could have got AD but refused to make the deal. They could have also Traded for KD in the offseason and kept Kyrie but Ainge was just so focused on trying to make deals where he fleeced the other team.
AD said he wouldn't sign an extension. I think they wanted jaylen in the deal as well. We made the right decision. Ainge regularly tried to make trades. Every trade the other team wanted a kings ransom for a guy who had no intention on staying
@@neilbuckeye3809 that isn’t true ADs contract was till 2020. Yes they would have had to trade Jaylen Brown but most likely they would have won a chip before 2024 and been just as dominant till today. Also teams weren’t trying to rip off the Celtics it was literally the other way around in 2017 trying to trade for Ad without giving up Jaylen brown?
You also have to factor in that even if Celtics did win 2024 they would never have traded for Kp, holiday, or Derrick white under Danny Ainge because he never traded picks. He would never have traded smart, Robert Williams.
So I don’t agree that ainge made the best move because he is only good at building a team and receiving assets. He has consistently shown the lack of ability to use his assets.
You also have to remember that had the Celtics gotten Ad and Kyrie with Tatum they would have been a well rounded team. Up until Celtics traded for both white and holiday the missing link was always pg. they traded for Kp and Ad is also a stretch 4/5. Tatum would have continued to grow and become elite. They probably never need to trade Smart and he would become a starter instead of 9th man. Al Horford was much better then compared to now. So overall they would have been basically the team they have in 2024 except they probably win a few more times but we don’t know for sure
People like to blame Kyrie for why this didn’t work, but it jus wasn’t a good fit not enough ball and as he stated to many egos n agendas going around
Jones George Robinson Mark Harris Maria
Zero interesting comments about kyrie
Thanks
Should have stayed in Utah.
Bro sold on OKC. Probably why they lost to DAL
He didn’t see the floor in the series at all
@@hunterwade9030they needed him yes he did he was trash
lol They lost bc Dallas was better. It’s not that complicated.
@@Joe_Ma99 keep that same energy
@@Wiseone-n7o Gordon played 15 total minutes and took 2 shots. OKC lost due to lack of size which they had on the bench and that refused to use it
Coupla' Trump bros doin' that thang