By SEAN BOCK
Gordon Hayward made it official Tuesday evening that he will be leaving the Utah Jazz and will join the Boston Celtics and his head coach at Butler who is now the head coach for the Celtics, Brad Stevens, Hayward announced via the Players’ Tribune.
The last time Stevens coached Hayward was in the 2010 National Championship game where Hayward barely missed a half-court shot as time expired which gave Duke the two-point victory.
I still think a lot about how close Gordon Hayward came to making the greatest shot in the history of basketball. https://t.co/ZhX5FUxHja
— Herbie Verstinks (@HerbieVerstinks) June 27, 2017
“After seven years in Utah, I have decided to join the Boston Celtics,” Hayward said in the article.
Hayward averaged 21.9 points this season for the Jazz and earned his first all-star appearance during his seven-year career, all of which were spent in Utah.
Multiple reports have stated the contract is four years, $128 million.
Along with the Jazz and Celtics, Hayward was also considering joining the Miami Heat, but all signs were pointing in the direction of Boston or Utah as the decision neared.
With Hayward joining the Celtics, Boston now has two of the top players in the Eastern Conference with Hayward and Isaiah Thomas who have the best chance in the conference to dethrone the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James as the top team in the East.
The Celtics have added depth at the small forward position with Hayward and also their first round draft pick Jayson Tatum who scored 21 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 5.7 seconds to go to clinch the 89-88 win over the 76ers and Markelle Fultz in his Summer League debut last night.
The Jazz will now try and pursue Otto Porter to replace Hayward according to the Jazz Tribune’s Tony Jones. Porter averaged 13.6 points and shot 43 percent this past season for the Washington Wizards.
The Celtics have also renounced Kelly Olynyk, who is now an unrestricted free agent per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Photo via Sporting News
