Rumored 76ers target just sabotaged himself with red flag comment

The Philadelphia 76ers are merely spectators right now in the playoffs, but it bears credence to at least expect the front office to be active watchers, their sights fully set on finding potential contributors for the team next season.

One of the teams recently eliminated from the playoffs is the Oklahoma City Thunder which, despite their ouster, has had a stellar season thanks to their scary young core. However, that same stellar branding cannot be said for one of their few veterans, who could actually be on the 76ers’ radar come free agency.

Potential 76ers free agency target sabotages himself after questionable comment

Gordon Hayward, whom the Thunder acquired during the trade deadline to help mitigate their lack of playoff experience, bemoaned his reduced role with his new team this season, much to the chagrin of fans in OKC.

"Obviously disappointing with kind of how it all worked out. This is not what I thought it would be. Certainly frustrating. But kind of it is what it is."

The former All-Star forward’s puzzling refusal to shoot when given court time was part and parcel of the reason for his sporadic appearances. In sum, Hayward scored a grand total of zero points in the postseason, sniffing the court in just seven games. However, he seemingly didn’t want to own up to that.

"I think that's credit to kind of the role that I was placed in and just lack of touches."

Yikes. At this point in his career, Hayward has to get acclimated to a reduced role, as he’s unlikely to snag any of the captainship he once enjoyed back in his heyday. Instead, it sounds like Hayward is still clinging onto the possibility that a team out there, like the 76ers perhaps, would place him on a pedestal.

Unfortunately for the veteran, his days of landing a sizeable contract are over, the same with his days of being a primary to secondary option. And unless he convinces a front office that he can still be a positive contributor on a lesser shot and minutes diet, it’s unlikely that he’ll be here for much longer.

Once rumored to be a target via trade or free agency, it would probably wise for the Philadelphia 76ers to skip over the Hayward this offseason and let another team test out the bleaker waters.