Gordon Hayward did the right thing in 2017 by choosing the Boston Celtics over the Miami Heat in free agency, even if it hasn’t seemed obvious over the last seven years, with Hayward fading into obscurity before retiring on August 1.
If nothing else, Hayward did right by the collegiate coach who helped make him a star at Butler: Brad Stevens. He signed on the dotted line in Boston to become one of Stevens’ top stars in the pros.
Gordon Hayward ditched Heat for Celtics in 2017 because of Brad Stevens
It didn’t work out that way due to Hayward’s injury and his poor fit alongside a wing-heavy rotation starring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But as Hayward revealed on the August 7 edition of The Dan Le Batard Show, that was his line of thinking.
“It was reuniting with Brad [Stevens] … Brad was the one that sold it,” Hayward said. “It’s hard to compete with somebody that I played under at Butler. He had a huge impact on my life… That was kind of the key thing… being able to play for him again. “
Hayward was completely sold on Miami at the start of 2017 free agency. So much so that it seemed like he almost didn’t even take a meeting with Boston.
“I remember vividly telling my agent after each meeting, like I started with Miami, and I’m like, ‘I want to go to Miami. We don’t even need to do the other meetings.’ Miami is the place I want to be, and he kind of was like, ‘Well, we got to hear everyone out,’” Hayward said (h/t All U Can Heat).
Hayward was never a highly sought-after free agent again. His 2020 free agency involved few suitors beyond the overpaying Charlotte Hornets. It’s clear, though, that his 2017 free agency was complicated beyond what we had previously known before this interview with Le Batard.
Stevens and Hayward’s connection went back to their college days together at Butler, and that was enough to sway his decision. It didn’t work out because of the injury, but Boston still beat out Miami because of their now-President of Basketball Operations.
