Some Random Celtics Thoughts- Part 3- a Point Forward

My basis for this exercise can be found here. TL;DR version- Smart, Brown Tatum and Grant WIlliams are the core of this team, both today and over the next few years. They need a few players to support them, including a sniper, a point forward, a center (coming soon) and a stretch-4 (same).

This post is about the point forward role, which should be a guy who can do a little bit of everything. The ideal candidate here is a guy like Gordon Hayward (hey... wait a minute!), but with his status up in the air due to a player option, this feels like a positoon worth exploring further in depth.

If Hayward opts in, and there's no deal to be had to add some more balance to the roster, that's a great spot for the Celtics to be in. Hayward is an ideal piece here, and I love the idea of rolling Kemba and Hwyard with some bench players to ensure the Celtics don't go through crazy scoring droughts. They can be tremendous together. I also love how much the ball movement improves when Hayward is on the court with the Jay's.

However, even if he opts in, there's a chance this is Hayward's last season with the Celtics, so finding a player who can handle this role over the long term feels prudent. That might mean looking at the draft, or it could be making a deal for a player currently in the NBA.

If we assume that Hayward won't be back next year (and a trade won't include some sort of point forward coming back), there are a few options I'd want the Celtics to explore.

There has been a lot of buzz about old friend Evan Turner coming back, but I'd rather focus on a younger version of Turner, Shaq Harrison from Chicago. he's a weird player, and a weird fit, but he's 6'7, a capabale ball handler, a switch-everything defender, and can play a bunch of positions. I think he'd be tremendous looking over the top of a zone from the elbow, and while his outside shooting leaves something to be desired, putting him on the floor with a few guys who can shoot will limit the issue.

Regardless of what happens with Hayward, I love the idesa of a draft and stash with Leondro Bolmaro, who's essentially a Gordon Hayward starter kit, and could step in next year to the role Hayward (or Harrison) would be handling this year.