​Gordon Hayward may actually be playing this year after missing all but the first five minutes of his debut season with the Celtics due to injury, but he's still having a less than favorable time in a Boston uniform. Consistently unable to perform at the level his ability permits, there's simply something wrong with the guy, either physically, mentally, or both.


And at this point, until he stops hurting his team, the Celtics should seriously consider sending him down to the G League.

Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and the next NBA coaching prodigy in Brad Stevens were supposed to form the bedrock for a new run of Celtics dominance as young talents broke themselves in around them. They were supposed to restore the peace with the basketball gods in Boston and finally find the answer that they have been searching for since the good ol' Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett days. But that hasn't been the case.


Hayward's return to the court this year has had its ups and (mostly) downs. The ex-Butler Bulldog that was lights out in the NCAA tournament in 2010 and an NBA All-Star in 2016-17 with Utah can't knock em down like he used to. In fact, he can barely even finish at the rim. He is only averaging 10.6 points per game this season; in his last season with the Jazz, he averaged 21.9 points per game.


He has had moments of quality here and there. But he is simply not himself, and the Celtics can't afford to wait around for him to figure it out. He'd be better off trying to find his game with the Maine Red Claws at this point.

Hayward needs to be demoted to give him the time and space he needs to get back to the level of production he achieved in Utah as a scoring star who could play serviceable defense to boot. It's crazy to imagine him getting banished from the Celtics, but the team can't simply afford to bench him. Time to make a stronger choice.