Report: Celtics had concerns about Gordon Hayward and Jimmy Butler’s fit together
The Boston Celtics had more than enough assets to swing a trade from Jimmy Butler this summer, but now we’re getting a better idea of why they didn’t.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported Wednesday that the Celtics had concerns about how Butler would fit together with Gordon Hayward, both from an on-court standpoint and from a personality standpoint.
Of course, Butler was traded to Minnesota before Hayward signed with the Celtics in free agency. But such concerns very well could have shaped Boston’s offseason gameplan from the start, and they definitely seemed legitimate as Butler and Hayward indeed have significant positional and skillset overlap.
We know that the Celtics were at least involved in trade talks for the All-Star swingman before he was ultimately dealt, but apparently they believe Kyrie Irving will be a better complement to Hayward than Butler would have been.
