Young retiree, Gordon Hayward remains attentive to the movements within his former teams. Including the one where he had his shortest career stint (only 26 games), the Thunder. The OKC franchise had a very interesting offseason by recovering Alex Caruso via a trade, then signing Isaiah Hartenstein.
The former Jazz All-Star is thus optimistic for the future of the team. I don't think they're missing anything. I think they're missing experience, which you can only get by playing. Going through that last year was important for them. “, he judges in reference to the first place acquired in the West, then to the elimination in the 2nd round against the future finalists, the Mavs.
Gordon Hayward, who had not scored a single point in seven appearances during this playoff campaign, conditioned the Thunder's success on several factors. Health in particular – ” I hope Chet (Holmgren) will stay healthy, as well as SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Jalen (Williams), Lu Dort and all the others – and the level of team cohesion.
Don't imitate the Celtics
” They have the elements and the talent to do it. The team has to work, we can't try to compete against each other and not compete together. “, he recalls, drawing a parallel with another of his past teams: the Celtics.
The Celtics of the famous 2018/19 season, the year Hayward found himself teamed with Kyrie Irving, and emerging young talents Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. We were almost competing against each other to try to shine as much as possible and to succeed individually. “, recalls the retiree, on the failure of this training.
OKC's roster has not, so far, shown any signs of being a team that would move in that direction. “SGA,” ” a top 5 player in the league ” according to Hayward, “is the undisputed leader, while Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams act as good lieutenants. ” As long as they stay focused on winning, they will be able to go very far. ” predicts their former teammate.
