Examining lineup possibilities: Should Celtics keep Gordon Hayward in 6th man role?

The Celtics have overhauled their roster for the second time in three offseasons this summer, bringing aboard nine new players for Brad Stevens to work with, in the aftermath of a disappointing 2018-19 campaign.

Four of the team’s six returning players will be key pieces of the team’s rotation, but there won’t be room for all of them in the starting five this year. Just like last year, Stevens is going to have a tough decision on his hands with this starting group, and it’s evident the wrong choice can have a detrimental effect on a team as evidenced by last year's 10-10 start in the midst of a dysfunctional season.

While a lot of the drama may be out the door next season with Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier gone, the team’s margin of error will be thin for this group — as its best two defensive bigs departed.

There are a few names that seem like locks for the new-look starting five heading into September. Kemba Walker will start. Jayson Tatum feels like a lock. Enes Kanter is sure to get first crack at the starting spot after signing for a discount this offseason. After that? There are two remaining open spots for three candidates: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at each of the possible combinations that Stevens could use within that trio to get a sense of what direction the team is leaning.

Part 1: Examining lineup possibilities: Should Celtics bring Marcus Smart off the bench?

The YOUNGER STARTING LINEUP

PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown 
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Enes Kanter

POTENTIAL POSITIVES

Hayward stays in a role he got comfortable in last season: The swingman got a few spot starts during the second half of the season due to injuries but he was a primary sixth man for the final 60-plus games of last year as he worked to regain his rhythm physically and mentally in his return from an ankle injury. While the season ended on a down note for him against the Bucks, Hayward still played some of his best ball of the season with the second unit, earning praise from Danny Ainge for the adjustment to his new role at the end of the season. With the stigma of coming off the bench out of the way already, starting the year off with Hayward facing off against second units and playing more of a featured scoring role within that group could be the best way to help the team and Hayward's confidence in a pivotal season for both.

A ballhandler for the second unit: There is a clear necessity for this role following the departure of Terry Rozier last season. Hayward spent a good amount of time as a primary ballhandler with the second unit but that designation is going to be crucial this year with so much inexperience throughout the second unit, along with a lack of true shot creators. Brad Wanamaker will get a chance for minutes alongside rookies Carsen Edwards and Romeo Langford, but it's quite possible that Wanamaker will end up losing that battle. With Edwards and Langford not known for their passing, it's going to be critical for Stevens to have a veteran in place to direct traffic, set up teammates and create offense in a pinch. Hayward (at his best) is a better all-around offensive weapon than Smart on this front, which should make this an appealing lineup for Stevens, whether or not Hayward ends up coming off the bench.

Splitting up the best scoring wings: It's a new year with some new personnel around them but it's hard to ignore the lack of production within the Brown/Hayward/Tatum starting five last season. That was one of the worst scoring offenses in the NBA over the first 20 games and while the blame shouldn't fall on those guys individually, it's clear that the trio did not complement each other's strengths particularly well on the offensive end. An offseason of improvement from Brown/Tatum along with Hayward's return to full strength may help change the calculus a bit within that group but there's no questioning the fact that Stevens will need to them to be among the top four scorers on the roster this year for this group to be at its best. In order to unlock that type of balanced offense, separating the trio (at the start of halves) may help best ensure each finds some rhythm on most nights. Otherwise, there may be too many mouths to feed in the starting five with Walker, along with a lack of firepower off the bench.

POTENTIAL NEGATIVES

Hayward may be the second-best player on this roster: This would obviously be a far cry from how he fared last season, but his track record indicates a return to full strength would put him as a clear-cut No. 2 player on this roster.

"I think last year was a lot of hoping and not really knowing what was going to happen just because I didn't have the reps going into a brand new system playing with brand new teammates," Hayward said last month. "After playing with everyone for a year and being around everyone, and, more than anything, going into a summer training as hard as I want to, it's a lot better for my confidence this year and expectations-wise as well."

Given the talent falloff on paper (from last season), particularly in the frontcourt, the Celtics may not be able to afford the luxury of keeping one of their best players off the floor for the start of each half. There may be limited margin of error for this group on both ends of the floor and having the team's best match up against an opposing starting five may end up being crucial for Boston to thrive in an improved Eastern Conference.

The most expensive bench player in the league stigma: While there may be a sense of familiarity coming off the bench again for Hayward, he clearly does not want to be the sole max player in the NBA that doesn't start for two straight seasons. Last year's situation can be explained by the tricky circumstances for Hayward's comeback and a lack of chemistry among the starting five. Now? That logjam has mostly faded away and the 29-year-old swingman is coming off a healthy summer without setbacks. If the C's want Hayward to get back to the All-Star level he reached in Utah, the confidence of regaining the starting nod over some tough competition could be a nice boost on that front.

His defensive savvy may be of better use with the starters: The size of Kemba Walker along with the defensive limitations of Enes Kanter will put more onus on the C's wings than they saw for the majority of last season. Hayward is going to have to do anything from chase shooters around to body up power forwards in the post and he has a stronger defensive IQ at this stage of his career than both Tatum and Brown to handle those responsibilities. It's highly unlikely Tatum will ever be brought off the pine at this stage of his development but Brown came off the bench for the majority of last season as well. With defensive awareness popping up as an issue, Brown may be better served as a bench scoring weapon while Hayward takes on the challenge of slowing down opposing guards and wings with Marcus Smart.

Will we see Hayward coming off the bench on opening night?

The bulk of the Sixers lineup (size at nearly every position) and Hayward's strong summer makes me a believer that Stevens will re-insert Hayward into the starting five to at least begin the regular season. Some experimentation will take place during the preseason and there's no doubt that Hayward will spend some time captaining the second unit at points. Still, the Celtics are going to need Hayward's versatility on both ends of the floor to survive against starting units this year. As long as he's closing to the Utah version of himself than the guy we saw last year in training camp next month, it's hard to see him as a sixth man once again. He will have to earn the spot unlike last year but I fully expect him to do so.