>>Both Hayward and Rozier looking good on the Hornets now
>
>The Hayward and Rozier takes are VERY revisionist. EVERYONE
>clowned the Hayward deal, including myself, but I don’t
>think he’d be balling like this on a real contender and his
>presence takes minutes away from Brown and Tatum. Also it’s
>not a surprise to see him look good in year 1 of this deal,
>but come back to me in year 3 or 4 when they’re desperately
>trying to trade the guy. Again, it was Ainge’s job to
>replace his production. Stevens could create better rotations
>I suppose, but it’s difficult to invent that production out
>of thin air.
>
>I’ll always love and root for Terry, but it was basically a
>choice between keeping him or Smart and they made the right
>choice. I don’t think he’d be a good fit here long-term
>and he was awful last season. Him and LaMelo are gelling
>though and I’m really happy for him.

The only thing people could remotely criticize here is Ainge letting Hayward simply walk for nothing... but what was he to do last season? Trade him in a year where the Celtics had a real shot at a Finals run? That would've been a tough-ass call to make. But you can't re-sign Hayward for the type of money Charlotte offered, and you absolutely couldn't re-sign Rozier, who was really bad until this season Melo took over and made his life a lot simpler.

That said, this is also just part of the territory. Getting rid of guys who then ball elsewhere means lots of revisionist history.

But yeah, as you said, a lot of this is on Ainge. Tristan Thompson is a net negative player this year. Jeff Teague is a net negative player. None of the draft picks of the last three years have really popped in the sort of way this team needs (Robert Williams is the most intriguing, but he's behind Tristan in the rotation for some reason).

And, if we're being honest, they probably need to look to deal Kemba either this year or in the offseason and look for a real solution at PG before Brown and Tatum's deals expire in a few years, because Walker just isn't giving value for the money he's being paid. Shooting 36% from the field, sub-2 A:T ratio, negative BPM, especially on the defensive end-- he's just not gonna get it done against the Sixers, the Nets, the Bucks.

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