Does Gordon Hayward Make The Boston Celtics Contenders? Warriors, Cavs Remain NBA Finals Favorites

A year ago, the Golden State Warriors made the biggest splash of NBA free agency on the Fourth of July by signing Kevin Durant. The Boston Celtics landed the best free agent in 2017 on Independence Day, as well, acquiring Gordon Hayward from the Utah Jazz.

Durant’s decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder changed the landscape of the league, improving a 73-win team and making them the odds-on favorites to win the NBA Finals. Hayward improves the Celtics’ chances to reach the 2018 NBA Finals, but it might be hard to call them legitimate championship contenders.

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Where exactly does the Hayward signing put Boston among the NBA’s best teams?

According to the oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, only the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have a better shot at winning the title. Boston’s championship odds have gone from 15/1 to 12/1, tying them with the San Antonio Spurs. The Houston Rockets saw their odds jump from 30/1 to 15/1 after they traded for Chris Paul, but the third-best team in the Western Conference has settled in at 20/1.

The Hayward signing further establishes Boston as the biggest threat to LeBron James and Cleveland in the East. The Celtics took the Cavaliers to five games in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they have improved by acquiring an All-Star forward without giving up anything in exchange.

Despite trying to trade for the likes of Paul George and Jimmy Butler, the Cavaliers have not improved this offseason. They’ve been unable to land any impactful free agents, and pulling off a trade without any desirable assets has proven to be difficult. Maybe they’ll get Carmelo Anthony before the season begins, though that remains to be seen.

In fact, Boston is the only playoff team in the East that has gotten discernibly better this summer.

The Toronto Raptors brought back Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, but they didn’t add any big time players. The Washington Wizards haven’t been in discussions with any major free agents, while the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks have traded away some of their best players. The Milwaukee Bucks should improve with another year of experience for their young talented players, but they’ve been quiet since the end of the NBA Finals.

Hayward is coming off his best NBA season. Making the All-Star team for the first time, he posted career highs with 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. His two three-pointers made per game were also a personal best, and his 39.8 percent shooting from behind the arc will fit in perfectly with the team that was third in three-point attempts last year.

Hayward was the best player on a team that won 51 games in the West, posting the same record as Cleveland in the regular season. The Celtics have increased their win total by at least five victories in each of the last three years, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Brad Stevens lead an improved roster to close to 60 wins.

Adding an All-Star to the No.1 seed in the conference would make a team one of the favorites to win the title in most cases. With LeBron James standing in Boston’s way, however, it would still be surprising to see the Celtics made a title run.

Perhaps if the team had also traded for George they would’ve been considered a true threat to the Cavs. Boston had plans of acquiring both Hayward and George, and doing so would have made them a tough out in the postseason.

The latest move, while possibly widening the gap between the Celtics and 13 other teams in the East, probably doesn’t do a whole lot to get them any closer to defeating Cleveland.

Adding Hayward still doesn’t give Boston what they were missing last year--a top 10 player. Golden State has two elite superstars in Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. Cleveland has the best basketball player in the world in James, and Kyrie Irving has performed like a superstar at times during the playoffs. The Spurs have Kawhi Leonard, a now bonafide top-five player, and the Rockets have two of the league’s 10 best in Chris Paul and James Harden.

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As good as Hayward is, he doesn’t belong in the NBA’s top 10, and he probably doesn’t crack the top 15. The same can be said for Isaiah Thomas, who was fifth in MVP voting last season.

Winning a championship without a superstar has proven to be just about impossible throughout NBA history. Trying to do so in the era of “super teams” will be more difficult than ever.