Hayward's Gruesome Ankle Break Changes Celtics' Season

It's not often a team's fate changes just five minutes into Opening Night.

But in a sport where there are only five players on the court -- out of the fifteen rostered -- devastating injuries can do that.

Just ask Boston Celtics' GM Danny Ainge.

Dude was probably still in the process of settling into his seat to watch how his remade team was gonna look in games that count, and whoa!

Don't hit the play button if you'd prefer to avoid gruesome any more than you're seeing right now:

 

First and foremost, full sympathies for Howard, of course, as he's got a serious timeline of recovery and rehab ahead of him.

On the karma front, though, seems like Ainge broke even.

• Dude bailed on Isaiah Thomas's hip issues, but
• Now has Hayward's cracked-up ankle.

Ainge has now gotta heat up the phone lines again.

The Celtics will be able to invoke a Disabled Player Exception of around $8.4million in cap hit, and they'll have until 10 March 2018 to use it.

Still, with the season just under way, it's gonna be tough to find a GM who's not currently settled with his team. The other consideration, albeit minor, is he's looking for a short-term fix -- barring a miracle cure this year,  Hayward will be back next season -- so any move he makes must make long-term sense, too.

So, it sucks to be him right now.

But it really sucks to be Hayward.