Gordon Hayward, formerly of the Boston Celtics, is frustrated with his injury issues over the past few years.
Ever since joining the Boston Celtics in 2017, Gordon Hayward has developed a reputation for being injury-prone. Celtics fans vividly remember when Hayward fractured his leg and dislocated his ankle in his first game with the team. Since then, Hayward’s only managed to cross the 70-game mark once, which was the season following his leg injury. It appears he’s not fully past his injury issues.
Hayward didn’t play in the Celtics’ preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets because of a knee contusion. In an article written by Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Hayward vented his frustration regarding his most recent injury.
“I’m dying to play,” Hayward said. “I got (hit) knee-to-knee, and it’s limiting me right now. So like they said, it’s probably just not smart for me to play and come limping into the season.”
The Charlotte Observer revealed that Hayward tried to play through the injury during practice, which ended up making it worse. Because Hayward’s injury issues have only continued in Charlotte – he’s played 93 games combined in the last two seasons – their priority is ensuring he’s healthy above all else. Although Hayward made it clear that he doesn’t want to rest.
“That’s the thing,” Hayward said. “This is the last thing I want to do. I did it at all at the end of the last two seasons, so it sucks. But it is what it is. I’m trying to take care of myself here and listen to the training staff. This is the part of listening to the training staff that I talked about on media day. I trust them, and they want me to sit out. So, I’m leaning on them.”
The Hornets need Hayward healthy now more than ever with Miles Bridges out due to legal issues.
Hayward’s Misfortune Since 2017
What makes Hayward’s string of injuries since 2017 all the weirder is that he didn’t have these problems when he played for the Utah Jazz. In the seven years he played for the Jazz, the most games Hayward missed in an entire season was ten, which was during the 2012-13 season.
Most players who are injury-prone do so because they experience something ongoing throughout their career like tendinitis. Hayward’s injuries over the past five years have mostly been from freak accidents. His most recent one came from someone landing on top of his leg, leading to what turned out to be a season-ending ankle sprain.
Even if Hayward’s injuries can be attributed more or less to bad luck, because he has been consistently getting hurt almost every year since 2017, it still makes him an injury-prone player.
Hornets Interested in Reunion With Kemba Walker
On July 25, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Hornets were interested in reuniting with former Celtics point guards Kemba Walker and Isaiah Thomas.
Hornets considering reunion with a former franchise cornerstone, among free-agent options, sources say:
The New York Knicks traded Walker to the Detroit Pistons on draft night, which in turn led to speculation that Walker would be bought out by the Pistons, but Walker remains on the roster, though he’s not currently participating in their training camp.
Thomas also remains a free agent, though he has expressed interest in playing for the Hornets again.