Fansided

Celtics fans should be more hyped about Gordon Hayward than Kawhi Leonard

By Cody Rivera

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 25: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics speaks to crowd during game against the Washington Wizards on December 25, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 25: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics speaks to crowd during game against the Washington Wizards on December 25, 2017 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Kawhi Leonard shouldn’t be leading the basketball headlines in Boston. It should be Gordon Hayward who have Celtics fans hyped.

It seems like there are no bigger stories in NBA headlines right now than those of Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. With free agency just around the corner, the talk of LeBron’s next destination is the hottest debate in sports right now.

Almost equally as fascinating is imagining where Leonard will be playing next season as well. About to turn 27 years old, Leonard has already won an NBA championship and a Finals MVP award. It seemed as if the Los Angeles native was all set to be the next face of the San Antonio Spurs after the retirement of Tim Duncan in 2016.

But things have since gone south for Leonard, who pretty much just straight up quit on the Spurs, and he desperately wants out of San Antonio. He asked for a trade, preferably to his hometown Lakers, but the Boston Celtics have worked their way into the spotlight in the Kawhi sweepstakes too. In fact, they’ve even tried on multiple occasions to put together a trade package that the Spurs would be willing to accept in exchange for Leonard, but no such luck to this point.

While the status of Leonard is still uncertain, there are more important things going on in the Celtics landscape right now, such as Gordon Hayward making further progress to return for the 2018-19 season. Hayward recently wrote a piece discussing his surgeries and his current condition, but he’s ready to get “back on the parquet” of the Boston Garden.

Hayward recently had another surgery on his ankle because he was feeling pain, possibly caused by the plate and screws used to put his ankle back together after he snapped it in Cleveland five minutes into the season. The hardware was removed in his last surgery, which Hayward viewed as a minor setback, but he’s still moving forward.

Hayward’s dedication and commitment to make a full recovery and get back on the court in time for next season is what Boston fans should be focusing on instead of the possibility of bringing Kawhi Leonard, and his attitude problems, to the Celtics. Sure, Leonard is a big name. He would probably sell a lot of jerseys and a lot of tickets (not that the Celtics need help with selling tickets). But the fact of the matter is, they don’t need him to compete for a championship.

Next: Kawhi Leonard never wants to set foot in Spurs locker room again

As things currently stand, Boston’s starting lineup next season should consist of Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Hayward, and Al Horford, and that is already a team that can win a title. No more changes to this roster need to be made. The guys just need to go out there and win basketball games. Hopefully Danny Ainge lets them do that.

So let’s not waste our time thinking about Kawhi Leonard. Let’s focus on Gordon Hayward as he takes his final steps in the recovery process. He deserves all of the support.

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