After Gordon Hayward's gruesome season-ending injury, the Celtics have been forced to tweak their starting lineup. With a strong and talented second unit, Danny Ainge is not looking to add any further pieces to the roster. Instead, they will think about applying for the Disabled Player Exception. That means the team is not totally abandoning the idea of recruiting another player, just not this time.
Danny Ainge on recruiting a new player
According to the Clutch Points, Ainge said during an interview with The Boston Globe, that there is no current deal for the team.
"It's next man up," he said. Apparently, the franchise is capitalizing on its second squad to put up the game. At least until they find a suitable player to fill in the vacant position.
Ainge also added that injuries are part of the game. The team cannot sit around and feel sorry for themselves. Marcus Morris, a top candidate to replace Gordon Hayward suffered a knee injury that could sit him around for the next few games. Despite that, on Saturday, Morris was seen shooting around at a Celtics practice facility.
Morris' fast recovery is a promising sign for the team, but they may have to wait until next week to list him back on the roster.Talking to the Globe on Friday, Danny Ainge admits, the franchise is in the process of applying for the Disabled Player Exception.
This application will earn the team at least $8.4 million that they can use to recruit Hayward's replacement.
Last week, Gordon Hayward's agent said, the surgery to repair his broken ankle was successful but doubts he'll be able to return this season.
Gordon Hayward's road to recovery
Meanwhile, Ainge has been very understanding of Hayward's situation saying they are not putting pressure on the player.
In fact, he doesn't expect him to return this season. "Just take the pressure off him and let him heal correctly is the most important thing and not even really talk about when he should return to play," he said.
Admitting that the Celtics have not played very well, Ainge said it's too early to predict how the season will fare.
Despite the team getting plagued with injuries, he said there's no reason to panic, not when they have a new, reliable roster. His sympathy, however, is on Gordon Hayward, who will take months to recover. According to Ainge, it's different when Hayward spent most of the summer getting conditioning only to be stopped by such injury.