After a season of disappointment, Gordon Hayward is motivated to attack healthy offseason

Lost amid the Celtics rubble from a disastrous series against the Bucks was an ugly finish to the year by Gordon Hayward. The former All-Star battled through an up-and-down year in his first season back from a brutal ankle injury but proved to be a shell of himself on the biggest stage. He shot 34 percent from the field in the series against the Bucks, averaging just 7.4 points and 3.3 assists despite averaging 28 minutes per game. He was a replacement-level player for most of the series, as the Celtics lost four straight games in an ugly fashion.

Hayward was back at the Auerbach Center on Thursday morning to go through an exit interview with the coaching staff before heading out for the summer and reflected on the struggle the year had been for him and the franchise.

"I think, obviously, not the way we wanted it to go," he said. "Very frustrating for us, but I think, credit the Bucks first off. They beat us and played really well. They took us out of what we wanted to do. All credit goes to them but frustrating for us."

While other players on the roster may be eager for some time off after a challenging year, Hayward sounded motivated by the challenge that lies ahead. There was some understandable dropoff in his play just a year removed from injury but Hayward wants to ensure that does not occur again next season.

"Certainly, a frustrating season, a disappointing season and very challenging for me individually," he said. "I think a lot of people felt that way throughout the course of the season. For me, personally, just excited to get to an offseason without having to deal with the injury and rehabbing.

"It's going to be a really challenging offseason for me with the work I'm going to put in. I'm looking forward to attacking that and like I said, it's a lot easier to get ready for this offseason than it was last year. I don't have to worry about the ankle or anything. That's kind of how I move forward, using this season as some motivation and fuel. Just looking forward to attacking it."

BSJ Analysis

With two years remaining on his initial four-year max contract (player option in the final season), the safe money is Hayward returning to Boston next season.

He has done little to build any kind of trade value (he's a net negative with that deal attached to him around the league right now) but obviously, there's a real chance of a bounce back with a full offseason to build towards improving his game and body. Hayward was asked on Thursday to compare his situation to Paul George, who admitted he got back close to peak form two years out from his initial injury.

"Like I said, it's hard to compare with different people and what they say," Hayward said. "I know he went through a similar injury and I think it's different circumstances. I'm looking forward to this offseason and the silver lining for me is being able to go into it and just attack it and not have to worry about restrictions and having more freedom in what I want to get done and accomplish."

The question is whether the Celtics want to wait for Hayward though will be a fascinating one given their roster composition. If the team does want to trade for Anthony Davis this summer, it's going to have to be him or Marcus Smart involved in the deal to make the money work for a swap. Who Ainge chooses to keep in that situation will be telling, especially since the Marcus Smart is the more valuable trade chip at this point.

If Kyrie Irving walks and Al Horford follows him out the door, the Celtics will be left in a challenging spot with Hayward and a very young core all of a sudden. Would they try to move on from Hayward to open up salary cap space for future free agents? Or try to build with him alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? For as disappointing as Hayward's season was, dumping him two years after his initial injury would not be a great look for the franchise after signing him as a free agent. He deserves a shot at redemption and will be working his ass off this summer to try to achieve that.

Danny Ainge has not let emotions influence some of his past transactions so it will be interesting to see whether Hayward is still a part of the master plan or a casualty of roster re-tooling after his bad injury luck. Either way, he'll be entering next season with a chip on his shoulder, attempting to prove that he can be a building block for a franchise once more.