Zach Kram of The Ringer devised a fictitious trade proposal that sent Marcus Morris and Gordon Hayward, two former Boston Celtics teammates from the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, to the Charlotte Hornets and Robert Covington to the Philadelphia 76ers, respectively, along with two second-round picks.
“Hayward could probably be obtained for a much lighter return compared to the likes of Siakam or Alex Caruso (if the Bulls reluctantly decide to trade him),” Kram said, stating that he might even be a buyout candidate if Charlotte is unable to reach an agreement by the deadline. He would bring the Hornets two second-round picks in this deal,
which is more than they would receive by simply buying him out. Morris and Covington, who both joined the 76ers through the James Harden deal, are easy additions to match Hayward’s pay because they have expiring contracts and rank ninth and tenth on the team in minutes played.”
Given how little real progress the Sixers will make in the near term, this contract may be viewed as an overpay, but it’s the kind of overpay made when one goes all in on a roster that may not be able to be assembled for very long given how much it will cost this upcoming offseason.
Both Hayward and Jayson Tatum felt that the team’s locker room dynamics in 2018–19 were unfavourable to success, but they approached describing that group in quite different ways.
Paul George was informed by Hayward on the “Podcast P” programme (via NESN) that “we all had too many agendas.” “The primary goal was not to win the entire thing. Not to point fingers either. We are all human after all. Too many of us were positioned in the same way. Everybody needed the ball. With the ball, we all looked great.”
