Gordon Hayward left the Utah Jazz and hopes that he can help lead his new team, the Boston Celtics, to the NBA Finals. The Celtics also have a lot of faith in Hayward and proved it with the new contract that they gave to the All-Star. That contract came 10 days after Hayward agreed to join the Celtics and was a maximum-salary contract for four years and $128 million. Hayward could have received more if he stayed with the Jazz but he wanted a better chance to win an NBA title.
The Gordon Hayward contract
The Boston Celtics Gordon Hayward contract will pay the superstar a lot of money so the team has to hope that he is the missing piece that will lead the illustrious franchise back to the NBA Finals.
The deal makes Hayward the highest paid player for the Celtics and escalates each season. $127.829 million of the deal is guaranteed money and the average salary is $31.9 million. The base salary for the 2017-18 NBA season is $29.7 million.
The Hayward-Stevens connection
One of the big selling points of Gordon Hayward signing with the Boston Celtics was reuniting him with former college coach Brad Stevens. When Stevens coached at Butler, he proved to be one of the best collegiate coaches in the world and helped lead his team to the Final Four in back-to-back years despite being a mid-major conference team. When Stevens took the step up to the NBA, he succeeded where many other college coaches failed before him.
The Boston Celtics actually finished the 2016-17 NBA season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they finally lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers to end their season there. With the addition of Gordon Hayward, the Celtics hope to make it to the NBA Finals next.
Brad Stevens said he worked at Butler for 13 seasons and felt the pull to stay before making the jump, comparing his move to that of Hayward. The coach and player lost to the UConn Huskies in the National Championship game in 2010. They are hoping this team-up will allow them to finally reach the championship at the end of the season.
To make room for Gordon Hayward, the Boston Celtics had to let Avery Bradley, Jordan Mickey, and Kelly Olynyk go. They were able to add Marcus Morris and will also sign free agent center Aron Baynes. They are also returning with stars Isaiah Thomas and Al Harford and hope that Hayward will give them a Big 3 that can finally overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers.
