Utah Jazz superstar Gordon Hayward has agreed to join the Boston Celtics. Hayward had some serious choices to make when NBA free agency started. First of all, Gordon could re-sign with the Utah Jazz, the team that he became a star with. He could have signed with the Miami Heat, a big market team who is trying to find their winning ways again since losing their Big 3 championship lineup of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
Why Gordon Hayward chose Boston
While the Miami Heat offered a lot of opportunities thanks to the location and larger market and the Utah Jazz were a playoff contender, the Boston Celtics offer Gordon Hayward the best chance at an NBA Championship.
In the 2016-17 NBA season, Boston finished in first place in the Eastern Conference. Since they were considered a year or two away from that moment, that was considered a huge deal and the future is bright for the Celtics.
The other big lure for Gordon Hayward when it came to choosing the Boston Celtics was a reunion with Brad Stevens, who was his college coach at Butler. Stevens was one of the few college coaches who made the jump to the NBA and was successful very quickly, leading the Boston Celtics roaring into the postseason in only his second season and leading them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in his third year there.
What is next for Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics wanted to sign a big name.
They were chasing Paul George but he ended up with the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Gordon Hayward, they finally got their star player and now they need to cut a bunch of players to allow them to create the cap space to sign him.
ESPN reports that they will be forced to pull their qualifying offer for Kelly Olynyk and let free agents like Jonas Jerebko, Gerald Green, and James Young go.
They will also have to waive Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson if they can't find a team to trade them to. Other than that, the Boston Celtics might also need to trade or move Terry Rozier or Marcus Smart to make room.
With all those moves, is Gordon Hayward worth it? Hayward is only 27 and has improved every season, finishing the 2016-17 NBA season with a 21.9 point-per-game average as well as 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Hayward also hit on 47.1 percent of his shots last season.
When Gordon Hayward joins the Boston Celtics, he will team with Al Horford Isaiah Thomas, and rookie first-round NBA Draft pick, Jayson Tatum, to try to help them finally overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Eastern Conference.
